DVD
REVIEW: The Happening
10/03/08
SYNOPSIS:
From M. Night Shyamalan, the
writer-director of The Sixth Sense and Signs, comes a
gripping thriller about a family on the run from a
mysterious and deadly phenomenon. Academy Award® Nominee
Mark Wahlberg (2006 Best Supporting Actor – The Departed)
stars as Elliot Moore, an ordinary man trying to save his
family from a terrifying, invisible killer. As Elliot begins
to discover the true nature of what is lurking out there, it
soon becomes clear that no one—and nowhere—is safe.
REVIEW: After the movie, at first I was speechless,
then all I could repeat to myself over and over and over
again was how bad I felt for Shyamalan. It wasn’t too long
ago that he was on top of the world after mesmerizing it
with his masterpieces, Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs.
His directing skills, story telling abilities, and overall
cinematic vision were a breath of fresh air for moviegoers.
Sixth Sense holds my personal record for seeing a movie in
the theaters at 4. This is not by choice but by chance
because every time I went to the movies with a different
friend during that period of time, they each wanted to see
Sixth Sense. Can I tell you that even on the 4th viewing,
knowing exactly what was going to happen, I was still
jumping in my seat during the scary moments. That is
Shyamalan skill. In Signs, one of my personal favorites of
all time, the way each little detail is wrapped up in
smooth, meaningful closure is Shyamalan skill. It is one of
the best movie endings I have ever seen. Underrated
Unbreakable was a fantastic telling of a modern superhero
story in Shyamalan style. It was excellent. But then things
started to get a little off. In The Village and Lady in the
Water, the magic, mystery, and nail-biting cinematography
are all still there but the stories were not as sharp. This
was even more evident with their humble performance at the
box office. Being the Shyamalan fan that I am, I was
completely rooting for him to make a dramatic comeback with
this production. The previews were enticing and it was his
first rated R picture so I had high hopes. Maybe that’s why
I was so disappointed. The movie was not exactly bad, but it
was not what I was hoping for. But heck, Shyamalan said it
himself. "I wanted it to be a fantastic fun B movie,"
Shyamalan told Reuters in a recent interview. "The No. 1
thing is I want people to say: 'That was a really fun B
movie.'" Are you kidding me? After what he has established
for himself he’s shooting for a B movie? I don’t get it.
Come on M., you know you can do better than that.
So let’s see, where do we begin? The character interaction
was cheesy and lame, and each character’s development was
insufficient. M. Night usually does a great job with getting
the viewer attached to the characters but not in this one.
The cast initially sounded pretty decent but the
performances were average at best. They seemed to be
reciting lines and forcing their emotions . . . they were
just not very convincing at all. Mark Wahlberg was not very
believable in the lead role of Elliot Moore, a science
teacher. Mark Wahlberg a science teacher? Huh? Zooey
Deschanel played Alma Moore, Elliot’s wife, and she just did
not bring her “A” game. The better performance of the three
bigger names in the cast was delivered by John Leguizamo as
Julian, a math teacher and Elliot’s friend and co-worker,
and yet he had the smallest role of the three. The script
was weak and unmoving and the storyline was too simple. As
always, the cinematography was one of the better aspects of
this film but compared to other Shyamalan works it does not
match his standards. Granted, a bulk of the movie is filmed
in a daytime outdoor setting so that doesn’t help. There are
hints of Shyamalan magic throughout this movie, but overall
it just does not feel like a Shyamalan product. What is
prevalent is the pro-environment message. It almost seems
like an Al Gore sponsored motion picture. If a B movie is
what M. Night wanted, then yeah, that’s what he got and it’s
pretty good. But scoring it against the reputation of
Shyamalan movies, it falls short. I am willing to let this
one slide if he brings a real blockbuster next time.
Movie
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish
French - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Hard Cut –
Behind the scenes preparations and execution of graphic
scenes with Robert Bailey, special effects crew, images of
the squibs, make-up, and prosthetics giving this piece an
“anatomy of a scene” feel. (9:02)
"I
Hear You Whispering" - The cast, director and
producer talk about the end of the movie the Mrs Jones story
(4:18)
A Day
for Night – A day in the life of Night during
production. Footage shot by a mini-DV cam contributes to the
raw “in the moment” style of coverage for our one day with
Night. (6:45)
Elements of a Scene – In cinema-verite style,
dissect the staging of an elaborate scene, from planning, to
adjustments, to nailing the last shot of the sequence.
Stand-up interviews from cast and crew personalize the piece
with a glimpse at all the contributions needed to capture
the scene and move on. (10:11)
Visions of The Happening: This is your standard
"Making of" featurette a really short one (11:54)
Deleted scenes A total of 4 deleted
scenes. In reality 3 are extended scenes and one is a
deleted scenes all with an option for introductions from M.
Night Shyamalan (11:54)
Gag reel
(2:52)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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VIDEO |
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