M KNIGHT's The Happening

A lot of people seem to be saying the acting was bad. I don't think that is right.

The acting across the board was consistent in style. All the actors were performing a presentational style of acting rather than acting in naturalism like we are all used to.

In that sense it was not bad acting it was just a really bad directorial choice to have the actors act like that.

It's been a full 24 hours since I watched the film and I still cannot believe how bad the film was.

-rook
 
it wasn't horrible, the first 25 mins were very intriguing....the rest of the movie was just not good, lol.

i think the thing that disspointed me the most was that mark walhberg's character was not so great. i think he did about as much as he could with the part.

you can definitely wait for DVD. i was a fan so i had to go see for myself, but if i hadnt and people were saying it was as bad as it is, i think i would have passed (since lady in the water was so weak).

i'm hoping he uses this negative reactions to his film to make the best film of the year next time around.
 
Hmmm... if he set it up as a "B-movie" maybe it's supposed to be bad? You know what I mean.

Unless that's just a lame excuse after what he saw in the editing room. :)
 
I don't think I'd put it quite on par with Dreamcatcher, but it's still terrible, nonetheless.

M. Night had better watch out. He's quickly becoming the R.L. Stine of cinema.
 
Don't know if we're still doing this on the thread, but SPOILERS.

I actually think the concept (a toxin evolved by plants to make humans kill themselves) is very disturbing and unnerving, and I think the first 30 minutes of the film - and whenever anyone suddenly stops in their tracks - is very effective. Too bad the rest (writing, acting, pacing, story, editing, etc.) is SO bad.

A shame, really.
 
I went in expecting a b movie and really enjoyed it.

He has said many times in interviews it is supposed to be a B movie.

If you adjust your expectations to that genre its a good time.

You don't sit down to watch The day the earth stood still or creature from the black lagoon and rank how good it was on a Schindlers List/Citizen Kane scale. Different movies can be ranked on different scales and also be enjoyable in different ways.

From what I can tell most people who have said it was bad wanted it to be bad and are reveling in being able to say how bad it was.

Its not bad...its alot better than alot of other **** i have seen this year.
 
Weston

You the man.

I really can't wait to see this. I often wonder what exactly people are expecting with a film like this. Like The Mist or War of the Worlds, total camp thrills and nothing more.

I'm not expecting an Oscar winner, I just want to be entertained.
 
I REALLY want this to be okay. I'd love to see it in the theater (probably won't). I watched At the Movies where it got a mixed review...Roeper actually liked it. I guess I'll see it when my daughter gets it on Netflix....
 
but see im talking about war of the worlds.... and this even fails at that. signs was a b movie and it worked i didnt like it but it work this was like C graded serial before movie with no results.
 
Weston said:
I went in expecting a b movie and really enjoyed it.

He has said many times in interviews it is supposed to be a B movie.

If you adjust your expectations to that genre its a good time.
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I didn't. As a viewer, I'm not supposed to have to "read interviews" to know what to expect. I saw the trailers, though. I was expecting a M Night Thriller, where things are not as it seem, and where usually there's much more to take from the movie then the main visible storyline. Not this time.

This is M Night playing dumb. The problem is, you see such maturity behind the camera, with masterfuly built shots, tought provoking camera angles, etc. to tell a bland, unemotional, predicable story... It just feels like two different things altogether- the photography and camera vs the story and acting direction...

Brandon, yeah... It's a bit unbelievable. Can someone direct me to an actual interview of M Night about this movie? I really would like to know what was on his mind.

John, I'm really looking forward to read your take on this.
 
From that interview, it doesn't sound like Shyamalan has a very good grasp of what a B movie actually is. Putting monsters in your movie (zombies as he says) doesn't make it a B movie. Making a scary movie doesn't make it a B movie. There are great zombie and monster movies that are NOT B movies (I don't think 28 Days Later is by any stretch a B movie). In fact, the story in The Happening itself presupposes that the film is NOT a B movie.

I for one believe a B movie is a film that sets out to sell the audience by delivering something simple and crowd pleasing, while categorically failing to deliver or simply ignoring those elements that would elevate it to an A movie. A big element that distinguishes an A movie from a B movie would be that an A movie explores an "important" theme. Alien vs. Predator is probably a B movie in this respect, because it's about the action and seeing an Alien fight a Predator and that's about it. It's a decent story, but isn't trying to cinematically delve into some theme that transforms humanity. Meanwhile, The Happening is trying to comment on what we're doing to the earth and environmentalism, and that starts treading into at least an attempt to be something more than a B movie.

The cinematic experience is another thing that purports to be more than a B movie in The Happening. There is a concerted effor to deliver something artistic. B movies either don't try, or fail miserably in their attempt, to be visually artistic. They give us what we've seen before, because it sells. And that makes it a B movie.

So I just don't know why or how he could call this a "B movie." Are there homages to classic B movies in it? Are there girls in bikinis getting eaten alive? Wait don't tell me, I'm gonna rent it on DVD.

But more baffling is that he would actually call it "the best B movie ever." He's starting to sound like Uwe Boll (a self-declared "genius"). Keep in mind I've been an admirer of Shyamalan, and may be even more so after seeing the Happening, because I do like films that go against the grain. But Shyamalan's comments are losing me.
 
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