The Happening
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Movie Reviews of The Happening
Movie Review: Charlton Heston would've loved this film ...
Summary: 5 Stars
Mark Wahlberg finally gives a performance that is comparable to another screen legend. His terse, gripping and firm delivery in this Horror Apocalypse, cast him as a would-be Charlton Heston in the end-of-the-world, Omega Man style thriller that is pretty frightening at times and intensely nerve racking and thoroughly engaging.
No other filmmaker has even dared to handle such subject matter so vividly as Night handles Suicide and Mass Suicide here. This is a film that is honestly devoid of all hope, keeps the audience guessing and paralyzed in fear and does its best to plant a foot in the `Chaos' style of film-making. `Choas', being that the enemy is something unseen, unstoppable by ordinary means, fast spreading and usually unconventional. Films that have really pushed the envelope on this have been the aforementioned The Omega Man, The Andromeda Strain, Ghosts of Mars, The Martian Chronicles, 28 Days Later , 28 Weeks Later, The Mist and (possibly) Cloverfield.
This film delivers an intensely eerie image of the would-be future and does its best to scare you from your seat with spine chills that stay with you after the movie has ended and haunt you well into the next day.
I would say, that this film, is easily a step in a new direction for Night, and all his detractors are like the fanatics that pursue Michael Moore; some people will never be satisfied no matter what happens. I wouldn't listen to the negative reviews on this film, as it's not intended to be something for mass audiences or kids going out on a date movie. I will say that you can bet that this will sell very well when released on DVD in the future, and will be watched for a long time to come.
Some people were hoping for him to best The Sixth Sense, which I don't get, as any movie goer shouldn't carry those kinds of expectations into any film, but he does give you a film that is well worth the price of admission or the cost of the disk. Yeah ... every Michael Curtiz film needs to be 'better' than Casablanca to even be considered by an audience. Please, snap out of this 'hate reverie' that everyone seems clone-locked into, folks.
Movie Review: Didn't Deserve the Panning
Summary: 5 Stars
*should be four stars*
The one- or two-star reviews really do surprise me. The writing and directing in this movie, as well as the acting, is quite strong. Shyamalan consistently makes five-star, 10/10 movies, though he stumbled a bit with 2006's "Lady in the Water," which wasn't as bad as the critics said it was, but wasn't nearly as good as his previous hits. I don't know if the critics are just biased against him because of his portrayal of movie critics in "Lady in the Water" or if he's just one of those guys that everyone loves to pick on, but it really says something when the most experienced critic--Roger Ebert--is the one critic to give the movie what it deserves: a good rating.
Seeing this movie is a visceral experience. The scenes of mass suicide--that were often spine-tingling but never felt gratuitous or SAW-like--tapped into base human fears about the environment turning on us and about society losing its order. Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel give top performances as the main characters, a married couple dealing with some problems. They bring this couple to life with quirks and unusual yet effective performances, humanizing two characters that could have been the clichéd arguing married couple with lesser actors and a lesser writer. The cinematography is astonishing in some parts and a bit off in others, but the sheer experimental nature of Shyamalan's direction leaves the audience visually on their toes.
What a lot of people found fault in was how "The Happening" didn't shy away from comedy or showing people who are less than normal. From the "hot dog guy," to the military man saying "Cheese and crackers," to the crazy old lady, the heroes of "The Happening" run into many colorful types. I can understand why this would throw people off, but I found this to be an attraction for more scathing reviews, which I think is silly. The crazy side-characters in this movie keep it from being boring. Because, in actuality, we do run into many, many normal people. In the world we live in, even the regular world, how could there no be people out there with more colorful quirks? In fact, the only scene in the entire movie that didn't work for me at all was when Wahlberg's character was repeating the scientific method to himself while trying to figure out what action to take. Everything else in the film is superbly done, especially the "coming together" near the end.
When I saw "Signs," M. Night Shyamalan pretty much had me hooked for life. I got a bit iffy after "Lady in the Water," but "The Happening" only served to convince me of what I've already known: Most critics, as a rule, are biased to the point of ridiculousness. "The Happening" is a great movie with high, high re-watchability that I will certainly be buying on DVD the day it comes out. I totally respect other's opinions when they say that they hate this film, but I just can't see it.
7/10
Movie Review: The Happening is original and unique
Summary: 5 Stars
In another review I wrote, someone called me "sanctimonious". I can only guess why, but instead of apparently insulting people in my last review, I'll post a strictly technical review of The Happening.
I liked The Happening for the following reasons:
1. It was a 90 minute paranoia movie similar in style and structure to Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
2. Rather than showing special effects CGI style, it followed a group of people and simply showed them trying to survive the event.
3. It had scenes that were touching - the mother in the field talking to her daughter on her cell phone, in which the daughter is infected, was a sad and emotional scene.
4. The suicide scenes were filmed in a unique and original way.
5. The score was atmospheric and dark - exactly what the story needed.
6. The scene with Mrs. Jones was absolutely chilling.
7. The fact that Shyamalan did not reveal anything and left it open to your own interpretation, regarding the event.
8. The whole movie was very efficient - it starts up instantly, and moves from scene to scene - as though it was a lesson in filmmaking, how to storyboard a movie - the movie simply did not repeat itself - it kept gaining ground.
9. The humour - "packing hot dogs for the road" - it's silly, but it's effective in disrupting the suspense. Similar to Shyamalan's masterpiece "Signs", which was brilliant in juxtaposing suspense with humor also.
10. The scene with the wind is absolutely refreshing to watch in a day and age of CGI effects - it's something that harks back to The Twilight Zone or Outer Limits days - I absolutely enjoyed this aspect of the film.
Now, with all this said, I still feel that Signs is Shyamalan's masterpiece because it juxtaposes an invasion with humor, suspense, a brilliant Mel Gibson performance, and some of the spookiest scenes in cinema history (i.e. the Brazilian alien spotting and the alien leg in the cornfield, but The Happening is a great movie in its own right.
Movie Review: One Of The Most Remarkable End-Of-The-World Scenarios Yet
Summary: 5 Stars
The sudden appearance of a never-before encountered disorder in the Northeastern United States - which moves swiftly through its stages to its final phase of causing the seemingly oblivious infected to take their own lives - launches The Happening. The apocalypse has apparantly arrived in a most unexpected fashion, and it's jolting and eerily believable. A small group of people tries to figure out what's going on and try and avoid the inevitable of becoming afflicted, as the menace quickly spreads from its point-of-origin and threatens to take on global proportions.
When I first saw this one, I was under the impression that the nature of the phenomenon was going to remain a big secret until the end but that wasn't the case or the intention, and the general apparant cause of all the strange events comes out pretty quickly. I still hesitate to give it away because it IS more effective if you go into it without too much foreknowledge the first time. I will say that with the way the filmmakers executed it; with the citing of real-life similar phenomenon on a much smaller scale; with the drawing of attention to the fact that there's still much more about the world and the universe that humanity doesn't know than it does; and with a general projection of a sense of wonder about the mystery and grandeur of the cosmos, or nature or existance or whatever you want to call it, it makes the bizarre scenario feel real, and not far-fetched or contrived. The interactions between the characters, including ones who are total strangers when the events begin, are powerful and engaging. Many apocaltptic movies do well focusing on the darker aspects of people emerging in the shadow of The End, but The Happening follows a different route and focuses mostly on brighter, more benevolent instincts taking over. There's one particularly poignant moment near the very end, which may actually involve more participants than it appears.
All in all, a riveting, frightening, powerful movie that defies easy classification. Highest recommendation.
Movie Review: Great thriller for Deep thinkers. Not for for the dim.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great thriller. One of the scariest I have seen. But this movie is for deep thinkers and people who can see behind the facades. Definitely not for those with limited analytical capacities who can't name which magazines they read or those who have read less than a handful of books in their lives or those out of touch with global news events.
The thrill of this movie is tied to the sudden, unexplainable events unlike anything you've ever seen on any movie before. It instills great fear in the survivors who don't know what to be afraid of. Where do you go and what are you running from if you have no explanation or historical event to compare it to. This is an event which is not in the books and has never been encountered before.
When we bought the movie, the cashier insistently warned us it was a bad movie but she was profoundly wrong. We took a chance on the movie because it was by M. Night Shyamalan whose movies are always fresh and keep you on the edge of your seat but you have to follow everything very closely on his movies.
You have to follow the intricately woven details of events very carefully. His movies are profound and deep and original. I would not recommend this for young children or nervous people. There are a few brief periods of graphic violence but if you hang out at movies for the purpose of seeing gore... this movie will not fill your needs. I also would not recommend it for shallow thinkers or those with short attention spans because they wont get it.
Baby boomers and those concerned about our world will love this movie. This for for those who can see beyond the surface and those who know there is something seriously wrong on our planet. For those who have seen the changes all around us (by the way, those abilities are the key to this movie... so you will really enjoy this one)... this movie is definitely for you.