The Happening
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Movie Reviews of The Happening
Movie Review: surprise highlight
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow, over 115 1 star ratings for the Happening here on amazon? I guess people didn't like the storyline, which mainly focused on a young couple running away from these poisonous plants that released a chemical making people kill themselves (in graphic ways in a few spots).
No, don't worry, it's not what you're probably thinking- you don't actually SEE the plants turn violent with silly special effects and chase after people or anything like that- it's just that, whenever the wind would blow, people had to run for their lives. Much of the storyline focused on the outside, especially the fields, while people were walking through them and trying to find a place to hide. The kind of people the young couple met along the way brought a lot of entertainment to the story.
And, SURPRISE, I happen to live in one of the areas where the plot was focused on, haha. I guess I better start being nice to the plants around me then.
As I mentioned above, having plants release something that would cause people to kill themselves leaves the door open for a lot of possibilities as far as storyline direction and creativity goes, and the Happening took advantage of this BIG time with lots of incredibly shocking scenes involving suicide and people showing no concern for their own lives because the toxin from the plants was controlling them, and in a way the people on the verge of suicide moved around like zombies.
This movie did every single thing right to me- had a LOT of suspense, had a storyline that was easy to follow yet interesting enough to keep you guessing what would happen next, and the main characters were pretty good too (especially the guy). I seriously don't get all the negativity for this movie because it was honestly good enough for me to rate it pretty highly and recommend it to others who might be interested in watching it.
Movie Review: Don't know what all the snark was about...
Summary: 5 Stars
I just got this movie yesterday and watched it. Everyone told me it was terrible, but I've always been very pro M.Night. So I took a chance and bought it. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed.
The Pros: Like with all his movies, M.Night delivers to us a metric ton of suspense, rolled into a movie with a simple conflict. He manages to create a suspense movie that borders on horror without ever showing us a monster. The premise of the movie itself, coupled with what we see happening to the 'victims', is terrible disturbing without being graphic. It hardly showed anything at all, but several times I squealed or shouted " WHAT THE F--K!" to my husband, who even came out of the other room from a bid on WOW to see what had gotten his famous horror-movie loving spouse to exclaim so. M.Night creates fantasy with little actual graphics. There is almost no special effects in this movie that you could pick out, and I LOVED that. Like all his movies, it felt rich and authentic, and I prize that in a movie maker.
The Cons: Mark Whalberg. Several times I thought he was reading dialog off screen, like he couldn't get his lines right. His acting felt shallow and un-engaging. If I were M.Night and dead set on a Whalberg, I'd of picked Donnie. At least Donnie knows how to act.
All in all, M. Night delivers again, with something that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'll keep watching his movies. He has an incredible gift for creating fantasy. This was his grittiest, goriest movie to date, but he didn't have to show us hardly anything. Brilliant.
Movie Review: an apologetic YES. . .
Summary: 5 Stars
I understand the dislike many have for Shyamalan's work--The Sixth Sense was beloved for it's twist, and most expect the same from M Night in any following installment. When they don't see the same, they are disappointed.
But what I admire about his work is NOT the terror, the suspense or the surprises. What I love is his mastery of mood, and his use of imagery and allegory.
I therefore love Unbreakable, The Village, Signs, ESPECIALLY Lady in the Water, and yes, this film as well, because it is not a thriller, horror or suspense film--it is a clever and even touching account of human nature.
I don't much care whether there is realism--I care whether there is character and spirit, much like an old Medieval morality play, or a Greek tragedy.
I respect other views, but I, in turn, respect Shyamalan for doing what he does, and I love every minute of it. The Happening is grittier and perhaps sparser than the rest of his work, but worth a shot for anyone willing to view the world with a sense of awe and wonder.
It is NOT imitation Hitchcock--it is a totally different animal, more like Kiselowski's Decalogue than anything else. I recommend people read what Shyamalan says about his own work, and his intentions, before judging too quickly.
These are, in the simplest sense, fairy tales and morality plays. And that is EXACTLY what I enjoy about them, something very lacking in our culture.
Movie Review: the best of his films
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems like always that really good movies are not understood by the masses, and they are not liked as much by the masses. This seems to be the case for this movie, where the majority seems to not like it so much. I think this is the best movie yet by this director, and that those who dislike It are just too brainwashed to get it. The film is dark, unrelenting and a serious call to an intelligent society. Instead of being preachy, this film just gives us a more sober intimation of what may, of course in an sci-fi style account, quite possibly be in store for us if we do not pay more mind to the environment in the future, in terms of damage to plant life. Of course plants could grow to see us, humans, as a threat. And of course no one would really know what to do about it, if it was unexpected. This movie captures this perfectly, and this is the point. This is a very important film, one of the best released in the last 20 years of cinema. Great film!!!!!! A great, funny and complex movie that lets the viewer interpret it how he or she wants, it never says that we are for sure harming the earth so much or so little, but just what COULD happen...so its not a preachy film as some people might think. Wonderful movie!!Movie Review: Complexity explained,,,,,,
Summary: 5 Stars
I think the writer/producer expressed a situation where there could be a world where without meaning the human mind would not wish to live. This is obvious in psychology. If there is no meaning then there is no reason to live, believe me most would kill thenmselves. Love is the only meaning. To have love or need love or to need or be needed by someone is to have purpose. It drives us but subconsiously we do not know it. The reason the couple lived was because the represented units that actually need each other to live. There are people in this world that require such and cannot sustain themselves alone. Yet there are those who go about life without ever getting to have that need fulfilled. Perhaps the producer created a scenerio where only people who really loved or rather relied on each other for survival were immune from the whatever toxin. The tree's rely on eachother yet the humans do not. Although complex, I understand the movie's meaning. As for rating I give it a 5 only because the producer challenges humanity for the answer. Most will not understand because their creativity has not reached that level.