The Happening - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**pinknic38** · 07-20-2008, 02:32 PM

I know this should go in the Arts/Entertainment category, but it's kinda not really about the movie so much as the meaning/issue behind it... whatever.

Anyhoo so I just got out of the movie "The Happening" which is M. Night Shyamalan's newest movie. I think M. Night is a fucking genius. His movies always have this deeper meaning completely unrelated to the actual thing going on. For example in his movie "The Village" we learn that we cannot run from tragedies and there are no such thing as a utopian community, as much as you try to keep one. M. Night likes to push the envelope with issues and I love it. I would love to hang out with him for a day and pick his brain.

I'd heard shitty things about "The Happening" but I didn't care - I was going to see it regardless. So I was by myself, it's a Sunday matinee, only one in the damn theater lol. So I watch it and leave the movie scared shitless.

For those of you who haven't seen it, it's basically about this "virus" or WHATEVER it is (we will never know) that starts killing people, it's from nature, and it's basically like nature giving the middle finger to everyone for destroying it. They had some "loon" on the TV in the movie talking about how we're going to destroy the planet and it was nature warning us to back the fuck off.

I left the theater wanting to go recycle then move to some remote location in Montana (bad things don't happen in Montana it seems lol) and live happily ever after.

Though what happened in the movie was extreme and seemingly ridiculous, I really feel like something like that could happen (maybe not on that level, you know, drive to a town and see people hanging from trees and shit, you know, but some sort of "thing" where nature says F-U and whatever). Does that sound a little crazy? We're at a time where global warming is an issue, and going green is the thing to do and whatever.

I dunno, just wanted to throw that out there.

SGRHewitt · 07-20-2008, 05:32 PM

Worst movie I've ever seen. I thought the actors were playing bad on purposing, but no. It never stopped.

Shyamalan in my opinion hasn't made a good movie since Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.

**pinknic38** · 07-20-2008, 05:39 PM

The Happening wasn't my favorite movie he's done, but I think he's a fuckign genius. I loved Signs.

**BedtimeontheMoon** · 07-20-2008, 11:38 PM

Signs is my favorite. I wasn't too keen on this movie either, but I totally got the message behind it... Go Green or Mother Nature will Kill YOU!

**MolsonGirl** · 07-21-2008, 12:21 AM

I have to agree with SGR... I'm not a M Night fan... I think the acting and plot of his movies are generally awful... apart from the 6th sense... I thought Signs was rediculous, Lady in the Water just as bad, and the Village was not my cup of tea either... all in all I avoid his movies as much as i can.

**travelchick75** · 07-21-2008, 03:01 AM

Hahah but this isnt so much a critique of his movie as it is the general message behind it, i think he took it to the extreme sense but I think we're feeling the effects of our indifference from Mother Nature right now. I think the message is definitely relevant if not a tad bit far fetched lol.

**mbo108** · 07-21-2008, 04:48 AM

All I know is that they filmed a lot of this movie down the street from my house and it ruined my commute to work for awhile.

They had all these screens up so people wouldn't see that red jeep wrangler crashing into the tree, thinking it would be too tramatic to see in real life. Same thing with parts staged in the city.

And that diner is really called the "G Forge" but they left up the signs the production people put on there and now they sell t-shirts with "The Happening" on them. Just a little bit of philly suburbs trivia for you guys.

**travelpunk** · 07-21-2008, 08:33 AM

I read your post, Nic, up to the spoiler alert so I stopped. Something about a virus.

I like Nights earlier stuff (the 2 SGR mentioned), but his last few movies weren't tight enough. Scriptwise.

You're telling me that the residents of "the Village" never heard a helicopter or an airplane before? I don't care how they explained why they didn't, it just wasn't buyable. Even The Lost Amazon Tribe of Brazils Rain wasn't so lost.

Lady in the Water= Corrrr-knee...

Signs- Didn't love it, didn't hate it. But I hate it when Night casts himself. His acting is subpar, especially for that role.

As far as virus movies go, 28 days later is my fave.

**worldwidemike** · 07-21-2008, 09:09 AM

IMO, Signs is one of the worst movie ever made. You can say whatever you want about deeper messages, but for me, it also has to work on the surface. The surface of Signs was a science-fiction movie about an alien invasion.

Now, let me get this right: These aliens, who have the technology to travel between the stars, to elude our detection, come to earth to attack us armed only with their claws? Puh-lease. And, they have this Achilles Heel, this secret vulnerability to...water?! The basic building block of life? Whatever, M Night. Pick another genre to use as the surface of your movie, because you don't know shite about science...!

That said, I loved Sixth Sense. It's surface was a ghost story, and it told a good one...

And Tone: I thought the same thing about The Village. Where in the world do we not see jet contrails?

worldwidemike

**pinknic38** · 07-21-2008, 10:13 AM

I know his movies (especially as of late) get mixed to bad reviews. I loved Signs, not so much the "deeper meaning" but I liked it. Mel Gibson was a little weird in that movie - not his best. I freaking LOVE Joaquin Phoenix and anything he does.

I like that sometimes Night will cast the same folks in his movies... like the girl in the Village and Lady in the Water, like Cherry Jones (who, by the way, will be playing the female president this coming season on 24), like Joaquin Phoenix.

I think him putting himself in his own movies is kind of cool. He never has a big role, I wish he would have put himself in something smaller in Lady in the Water, but whatever.

I don't know, not all his movies are my favorite but I'm always excited to see what he's got on the agenda next and his movies always make me think. And I love the violin music he always does in his movies. In The Village, Hillary Hahn was the violinist who did all the music for the movie and she's so talented. I've met her on several occasions and seen her live.

I hear he's going to do some work on the last two Harry Potter movies (or last three, since I hear #7 is going to be broken down into two movies).

I dunno. I'm kinda surprised you guys all think he's crap!!!!! I love him!

**MolsonGirl** · 07-21-2008, 04:43 PM

I'm actually really sad to hear that he might have a chance to ruin the Harry Potter movies... honestly... if those movies suck I'm gonna be pissed.. I've been waiting too long to see them.

**TheJake** · 07-21-2008, 05:08 PM

Face it nicole... you're entertainment tastes are not echoed very well around here ...lol

**pinknic38** · 07-21-2008, 05:13 PM

**MeTurk** · 07-21-2008, 11:53 PM

Natures tried it's best to wipe us out on a number of occasions but to no avail. It's puny viruses are having little to no real impact. Soon we'll have complete control over micro biology and nature will be powerless to stop us.

We have the potential to be very beneficial to life on earth by spreading it across the universe. Reproduction is always given priority over all else. Maybe that's why natures so forgiving.

**voyd** · 07-22-2008, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldwidemike

Now, let me get this right: These aliens, who have the technology to travel between the stars, to elude our detection, come to earth to attack us armed only with their claws? Puh-lease. And, they have this Achilles Heel, this secret vulnerability to...water?! The basic building block of life? Whatever, M Night. Pick another genre to use as the surface of your movie, because you don't know shite about science...!

Exactly...

This is really more bad fi-sci (fictional science) than sci-fi.

Well, I just find it hard to watch any Hollywood movies anymore, to be honest. They all insult my intelligence...especially when they are trying to be somewhat intelligent. "Hollywood science" is sadly waaayy worse than even "government efficiency."

SGRHewitt · 07-22-2008, 07:41 PM

I've seen some really good hollywood movies as of late. Two namely, The Dark Knight, and Felon.

Felon is a more 'indie' film with Val Kilmer, but the studio is owned by Sony. Was an excellent movie, and I suggest finding it. The Dark Knight, do I really need to say anything about it?

**Elizabeth** · 07-22-2008, 09:19 PM

OK I saw Dark Night tonight and yes I liked it but there was one little thing about the plot I'd like to pick on. *Spoilers-highlight to see*They had the whole movie to kill the freakin Joker. Granted it wouldn't have been much of a movie if they killed him at the first opportunity but come on. At some point you gotta shoot the bastard. Oh and the thing with the boats. In real life no one would hold out for as long as they did. They prob blow up one of the ships within 1 minute.*end spoilers*

**travelpunk** · 07-22-2008, 10:03 PM

Wow! Thank you so much, lizz, for your creative use of color on the spoiler alert

!

I haven't seen it yet and your spoiler alert helped to preserve the suspense

.

**MeTurk** · 07-23-2008, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGRHewitt

I've seen some really good hollywood movies as of late. Two namely, The Dark Knight, and Felon.

Felon is a more 'indie' film with Val Kilmer, but the studio is owned by Sony. Was an excellent movie, and I suggest finding it. The Dark Knight, do I really need to say anything about it?

Saw that on a video site last week. Very good film.

SGRHewitt · 07-23-2008, 12:25 PM

SPOILER ALERT, Highlight as lizz did...
The Joker never died... They were planning on making more films until Heath killed himself. I hope they don't explain his death and just continue on. I'd rather see that than a new Joker... Plus you can't kill the villain early, or the movie would be 30 minutes long lol. Really though, an amazing movie. The boats... Yeah those convicts would've killed them instantly, I was totally expecting the people who used the device to blow up their own boat, as if Joker was playing a trick on them.