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RE: The Happening [movie]
"What's happening? What's going on?"
I don't know, but I'm sure I'd relate to you more if you took a few acting lessons and came back with more of a plot.
The premise of the story is good--and that's about it. I was left sadly disappointed by a movie that was way over-hyped, and they way under-done.
"M. Night Shyamalan's first R-rated movie..." and that's all that can be said for it.
Watch the trailers. Those are the best parts of the movie right there.
The idea behind The Happening is an interesting one... once they finally get to it.
The first 20 minutes of the movie are taken up by some way over the top performances by veteran actors that really should have known better. But I guess they were doing the best they could with a rather stiltedly written script. The things they were supposed to say I can't really picture in everyday conversation, but maybe that's how people are in New York and the rest of the east coast (sic).
Anyways, The Happening begins to take place as a strange event in Central Park where everyone is struck by a probable "toxin." First they begin to talk funny, they they freeze, then they commit suicide.
Mark Wahlberg's character, Elliot Moore, is a high school science teacher. The vice-principal calls him into a meeting with the rest of the teachers. There's been some kind of terrorist incident or something, people are dying. The school board has instructed them to send the students home... without telling them they might die.
John Leguizamo plays Julian, another teacher, that tells Elliot that they can take the train out of town to his mother's in Philadelphia, out of the affected area. He will bring his daughter Jess and meet Elliot and his wife Alma at the station.
And that's basically the movie. The train stops in some small town where the passengers are abandoned to fend for themselves. Julian goes to Princeton to get his wife saying, "Don't worry, I'll find you," and leaves Elliot and Alma his eight year old daughter.
From there, Elliot, Alma and Jess spend most of the movie running, picking up and losing other people, until they end up at the house of a crazy lady.
Along the way, Elliot hears and accepts the idea that what's killing people isn't man-made, but a natural phenomenon where the plants have targeted humans as an enemy and created neurotransmitter blockers to kill all groups of humans. And that's it.
Elliot and Alma huddle up at the farm house. The events ends. BAM.
There was so much room in this movie for more. Crazy survivalists, freak outs in other states, panic in the streets, mass suicides, looting, people doing anything to survive. But none of that happened. Even the crazy lady just screamed a bit, said some nutty stuff, and slapped the little girl on the hand for trying to take a cooke without asking... and then killed herself.
So what's The Happening's Shyamalan twist? The fact that there isn't one... or really much else.
I don't know why this movie was rated R. Most of the dying happened behind the cut away and when it was on-screen there wasn't much blood. Maybe all the suicides were seen as too disturbing for the PG-13 set. Or maybe the one scene where the boys are shot was too much. But anway, for an hour and a half I was left wondering when the movie was really going to start... then there were credits.
Very disappointing.
My recommendation for this movie? If you really have to see it, save your $7-12 per person and rent it on DVD from Redbox.
I don't know, but I'm sure I'd relate to you more if you took a few acting lessons and came back with more of a plot.
The premise of the story is good--and that's about it. I was left sadly disappointed by a movie that was way over-hyped, and they way under-done.
"M. Night Shyamalan's first R-rated movie..." and that's all that can be said for it.
Watch the trailers. Those are the best parts of the movie right there.
The idea behind The Happening is an interesting one... once they finally get to it.
The first 20 minutes of the movie are taken up by some way over the top performances by veteran actors that really should have known better. But I guess they were doing the best they could with a rather stiltedly written script. The things they were supposed to say I can't really picture in everyday conversation, but maybe that's how people are in New York and the rest of the east coast (sic).
Anyways, The Happening begins to take place as a strange event in Central Park where everyone is struck by a probable "toxin." First they begin to talk funny, they they freeze, then they commit suicide.
Mark Wahlberg's character, Elliot Moore, is a high school science teacher. The vice-principal calls him into a meeting with the rest of the teachers. There's been some kind of terrorist incident or something, people are dying. The school board has instructed them to send the students home... without telling them they might die.
John Leguizamo plays Julian, another teacher, that tells Elliot that they can take the train out of town to his mother's in Philadelphia, out of the affected area. He will bring his daughter Jess and meet Elliot and his wife Alma at the station.
And that's basically the movie. The train stops in some small town where the passengers are abandoned to fend for themselves. Julian goes to Princeton to get his wife saying, "Don't worry, I'll find you," and leaves Elliot and Alma his eight year old daughter.
From there, Elliot, Alma and Jess spend most of the movie running, picking up and losing other people, until they end up at the house of a crazy lady.
Along the way, Elliot hears and accepts the idea that what's killing people isn't man-made, but a natural phenomenon where the plants have targeted humans as an enemy and created neurotransmitter blockers to kill all groups of humans. And that's it.
Elliot and Alma huddle up at the farm house. The events ends. BAM.
There was so much room in this movie for more. Crazy survivalists, freak outs in other states, panic in the streets, mass suicides, looting, people doing anything to survive. But none of that happened. Even the crazy lady just screamed a bit, said some nutty stuff, and slapped the little girl on the hand for trying to take a cooke without asking... and then killed herself.
So what's The Happening's Shyamalan twist? The fact that there isn't one... or really much else.
I don't know why this movie was rated R. Most of the dying happened behind the cut away and when it was on-screen there wasn't much blood. Maybe all the suicides were seen as too disturbing for the PG-13 set. Or maybe the one scene where the boys are shot was too much. But anway, for an hour and a half I was left wondering when the movie was really going to start... then there were credits.
Very disappointing.
My recommendation for this movie? If you really have to see it, save your $7-12 per person and rent it on DVD from Redbox.