The Happening - Preview

Comment on “The Happening”

Note: This website is not intended for use by minors. The views expressed in this comments section are not necessarily our own. Comments that we deem to be poorly worded, off topic, or threatening will not be published. For free, uncensored discussion visit our forum.

1. Sam Says:
   February 23rd, 2008 at 14:29

   While it's no doubt true that Shymalan could really use a hit, I think you're over-stating the case just a tad bit. Four of the five films he's made from 1999 to the present made well over 200-million worldwide on budgets 60-80 million range. Give the guy a bit of a break even Spielberg has had a few massive flops.

1. Zeldaz Says:
   March 17th, 2008 at 19:20

   Jealous much?
   Sheesh.
   Why don't you take into account the fact that today's genre of sheeple are more interested in fantasy land versus disturbing realism.
   Or is it more difficult to actually decipher a film's content compared to taking a critic's easy-out by judging a producer by his accolades?

1. JoshT Says:
   March 17th, 2008 at 19:21

   Yes that's it. I'm jealous. Because every time anyone says something negative they're just jealous.
   
   Today I ate a sandwich. I told my wife it was awful, but secretly I was just jealous of the lettuce. I've always wanted to be green and leafy.
   
   

1. AlexG Says:
   April 13th, 2008 at 14:21

   I predict that Shyamalans Avatar Trilogy will be a huge success. It will be named in the same line as StarWars or LoR. I predict this is going to be one of the best movies of all time.

1. Henry Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 05:15

   
   waw Josh,
   felt like writing something sensational and negative? :)
   
   
   
   
   

1. JoshT Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 05:16

   Nope, felt like something honest and realistic. If you disagree with it, tell us why.

1. Shamalama-ding-dong Says:
   May 2nd, 2008 at 03:57

   Your damn right this ones gotta be good! Sixth Sense is the ONLY movie he's made that was good. The rest of them were train wrecks that embarrassed me, the rest of the audience, the producers, the crew, the world, and probably his mother too.
   PLUS John Legume-zamo is in it....Ol' Johnny-boy is a litmus test for crap. If you see anything with John Legume-zamo's name in the credits just run. Ever seen Land of the Dead? That movie...wow...That movie is something else. When you die, and get to the Pearly Gates, St. Peter will ask only one question: "Did you like Land of the Dead?". If you say "no" you get to go to heaven. If you say "yes" you are immediately re-incarnated as a colon polyp in Ron Jeremy's arse.

1. HunterX Says:
   May 3rd, 2008 at 12:09

   I'm a Thai who had watched all of Shyamalan's movies. Here's my thought. The Sixth Sense was his best movie. Unbreakable was a bit slow but added a new twist to the genre. Signs, apart from Mel Gibson's dead performance and some murky logic at the end, was really scary and atmospheric. The Village was the one that I'm very confused with its overwhelmingly negative reviews. Yeah, the twist was ridiculous, but the performances from the three leads were very good, the romance genuine, and there were some truly scary stuff in between. (Maybe I'm not hyped to wait for the "twist" at the end?) However, Lady in the Water, I agreed, was a disaster. So that makes one great movie, three good ones, and one real bad. Still pretty impressive, I think.
   
   I think the negative response he received occurs more from expectation than the quality of his movies. I will be certainly watching The Happening
   

1. great movies Says:
   May 8th, 2008 at 14:41

   Ya all the crap he receives is due to the twits and turns expected from him because he made one of the greatest flicks and that was at the start of his carrier. I feel that he ll bounce back with this one and yes he can do a lot with that Air Bender stuff.I ll sure see all his work.

1. oceandirector Says:
   May 13th, 2008 at 22:16

   I think the Happening looks really interesting. Obviously I agree that some of his movies were flops but I really enjoy the style of Nights films. The only problem is that either people love or hate/bored of his movies. Im going to sit on the fence of this one till i get to see it, but from what ive heard Shyamalan could be back on track with this one. I think the only reason he gets slaughted by critics is that he doesnt direct many films in quick succession so when he does everyones hope are high etc... but hay lets wait and see. ct x

1. Jack Says:
   May 15th, 2008 at 23:27

   I thought your article was well written, thoughtful & frank. It actually comes across that you are hoping the film is a success and not a flop. The fact that you gave the film a "4" is a sign you are looking forward to it. There is no doubt that MKnight's ego got the better of him. We're all human - hell if I had a the success that the 6th sense brought into my young life I might have thought I had all the answers too. But, unfortunately, we learn hard lessons through hardships, not successes. Everyone in Tinsel Town eventually learns what William Goldman so famously wrote…’In Hollywood, no one knows anything”. Let’s hope MKnight has learned that lesson.

1. MaxBro Says:
   May 21st, 2008 at 17:48

   Is this a preview for a movie entitled 'The Happening' or a diatribe on the state of Shyalaman's career? Why not separate the two elements so that the title of this post does not misrepresent the content? Or, start another column series similar to JoBlo's 'Come on Hollywood!' that bashes Hollywood.

1. Greg Williams Says:
   May 24th, 2008 at 13:46

   Josh... you're pretty much bang on the money I have to say although, whilst The Village disappointed, it wasn't quite the fetid, vapid and awful movie that Lady in the Water was... I was actually rather entertained until the shite ending. I wanted something more vicious.
   
   The studios most likely though don't share your movie-lover-based critique as he at least made them some money which, of course, is all they give a bollocks about.
   
   However, yes, he definitely did fall, fall some more, then bounce off the bottom of the barrel. One only wonders how slippery the sides of the barrel are... I sincerely hope that this latest endeavour signals a return to form from someone who obviously needs to have his arse whipped from time to time in order to rein in his 'creative power'.
   
   All things said though, and in balance, a fair piece... I like jaded people.
   
   Greg

1. tantryl Says:
   May 29th, 2008 at 14:40

   M. Night's films have grossed several times the production budget for every single film he's made, barring Lady which only managed to match the production budget.
   
   Since the production budget for this one is only $US57mil and there doesn't seem to be a big marketing budget it'd struggle to not make money.
   
   Following Josh's logic writer/directors like Kevin Smith would have been out making knock off versions of kids TV shows in Russia by now based on his not-every-single a-massive-multi-budget-profit-margin films.
   
   In spite of some of the lesser qualities of some of his films and the some what repetitive themes (although not quite as bad as Burton and those bloody trees) M. Night excels in creating a near-reality world with believable characters. Even Lady did this for the most part, in spite of it feeling quite a bit further away from reality than his other pics.
   
   Personally I found The Village one of his better efforts, along with Unbreakable. The near-reality worlds they create were compelling, as were the characters.
   
   But it'll take a lot more than two average performing films in a row to ruin Shyamalan's career.

1. OJR Says:
   May 30th, 2008 at 14:27

   Sixth Sense was priceless.
   
   Unbreakable was very good.
   
   Signs was ok.
   
   The Village was good although the ending was underwhelming.
   
   Lady in the Water was bland.
   
   Why all the vitriol, Josh?
   
   Unless there is some personal insight you would like to share ( I.E.- M. Knight spit in your popcorn )...
   

1. RED Says:
   June 6th, 2008 at 15:08

   Wow I agree with OJR.Who P'd in your wheaties? The man is brilliant!I can honestlly say there isn't one of his films that I haven't watched at LEAST 5 times.Everytime you watch you see something else,like they are always changing.And always leave you thinking.He doesn't NEED another film to prove anything.The guy is already set for life.Maybe its the thinking part that gets to you or maybe the fact that they aren't all blood and guts.They actually leaves your imagination work.

1. KGB Says:
   June 8th, 2008 at 16:59

   In my opinion, all of Shyam's movies are great. Well-written, excellently directed, and extremely original. Even if the concept has already been done before, he puts a new, creative twist on it. Too many people pick apart his movies before they watch them and want the movie to be exactly what they're expecting, but it never happens that way. I don't see where everybody is getting this big-headedness thing from. I'm sure Shyamalan doesn't think he's a writer whose work is going to change the world. I think it's the critic-wannabes that need to pull their heads out of THEIR asses and see his films for what they are. The theme to all of his movies is pretty much love and family, so don't go to the Happening without atleast realzing that there is going to be a lot of those themes in it.

1. Ixman Says:
   June 9th, 2008 at 11:54

   The first three movies were wonderful for me. I thought The Sixth Sense was a masterpiece. I loved the subtlety of Unbreakable. Signs was great fun.
   
   Then came the Village - an hour and a half Outer Limits episode.
   
   Then the dreadful Lady in - arrrgggh.
   
   My Prayer: please oh God please don't let this be YET ANOTHER "Mother Nature Fights Back" movie.
   
   Please, M. Don't do that to me.

1. SG Says:
   June 10th, 2008 at 00:24

   C'mon people - Sixth Sense intellectually challenging? Anyone of reasonable intelligence could figure out from the movie trailer that Bruce Willis WAS a dead person. Unbreakable was fun but not a movie that delivered challenging plot twists. The Village and The Lady - pure crap. These movies are only intellectually stimulating compared to the trash that Hollywood delivers these days. There are still some very good films out there but M. Night is not the one delivering them. Let's take his films for what they are, better than average entertainment but certainly not great cinematic works.

1. Nighty pooo Says:
   June 10th, 2008 at 01:00

   Yo m night is the best salesman ever, he wants people to think that he is a great visionary director. So he creates these aesthetic, literary and philosophical gimmicks so people would think he's a profound artistic genius.
   
   Seriously though!
   
   Every time I watch one of his movies I feel like I am being hard sold.
   
   I mean everyone is entitled to their opinion, just thought I'd point out his obvious plea for accolades.

1. Nighty Pooo Says:
   June 10th, 2008 at 01:00

   Yo Shymalan sucks!
   He directed one good movie the rest were down hill.
   These are the problems I see with night.
   -his dialogue is shit, I think the problem roots in the characterization of his characters. He grasps onto these cheap gimmicks then tries to convince you thats all their is to the character, it shows in the dialogue. His dialogue is to simple, to straight forward to come from an actual human.
   -this gimmicky shit also happens with the plot construction. It's like he's thinking to hard about how to make the plot unique and original. So he comes up with these weird plot devices that don't make any sense.
   -And something I've been noticing more and more with his work. He shoots shit from these super fancy angles that don't necessarily advance the scene. I noticed this particularly with Lady in the Water. It is more likely to give me neck cramps then allow me to enjoy the scene.
   -Plus he could turn any good actor bad, am I the only one who think most of characters in his movies emote like robots? I mean I don't know what he does but I found most of the performances in his movies disappointing .
   
   
   Those are the primary reasons I don't like him.
   
   I am not a director but I am an expert on my own taste, which is telling me M. Night sucks!
   
   And the fact that he is an arrogant douche kinda adds icing to the cake.

1. PhilT Says:
   June 10th, 2008 at 13:39

   I agree with Josh that Shyamalan has been going down-hill with his movies, but I disagree that he's not marketable and has to shop his movies around like a desperate college student. Why is the studio releasing the movie in June instead of January if they think it's crap?
   
   Shyamalan is great at suspense, making the characters human and having the audience mentally interact with the screen. He's bad at making all that pay off though. I think he would be a better director at making shows on Sci-Fi with their hour-long format.

1. Kathy Says:
   June 12th, 2008 at 14:14

   I have enjoyed all of M. Night Shyamalan's movies.
   
   Some definitely are better than others.
   I can't see him making a REALLY bad movie.
   
   Whether it is an "o.k." movie or a great movie, I know that I will come away being entertained.

1. Bratcat Says:
   June 15th, 2008 at 14:54

   I just saw the movie. Although I thought the premise was impressive...the scariest thing about the movie was...the acting. It was laughable. So were some of the effects. I've seen better made-for-tv movies.
   
   Although that sounds like M. Night bashing, it isn't. Maybe he wasn't given enough of a budget for good actors? Maybe he did have a problem with the dialogue? There definitely were some scenes that he should have cut...the special effects (which are VERY expensive) were cheap and corny. People walked out of the theater when these scenes came up....
   
   I'm a real M. Night fan. I'd really hate to see him disappear. Maybe he SHOULD do some television, where the production costs are lower...so he can re-establish himself?

1. Bratcat Says:
   June 15th, 2008 at 19:42

   According to the "official" website (in the "notes" section), the effects were done cheaply and the acting simple because he wanted the "look" of an old paranoia thriller from the 50's. If that's true, he succeeded. Unfortunately, the general public will probably not know that this was intentional unless they go to that website.

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Security Code (required)