I WAS a Whalberg-hater.

Rating: Null/10 (15 June 2008)

Have been from the days when we each trained separately at Gold's gym in H'wood and he was well-known at the time ('96) as Markie Mark. He then kept a pretentious, steroid-taking posse around him CONSTANTLY that served to his every self-absorbed whim and would unnecessarily block other gym members from using certain weight-lifting equipment if his Lord Mark was using it. Total prima-donna behavior, but I commend Mark Whalberg (the actor) for choosing this role in "The Happening." Anything is an improvement over his generic, bad-boy shtick in violent films like Four Brothers, Shooter, and The Departed. I commend Whalberg for choosing a role that requires professional acting skills evident in his performance. He's well-supported by Leguizamo and the rest of the cast (in my humble opinion.) That aside, I enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan's film. Great premise and definite nerve-wracking early sequences set the tone for what's to come. I hadn't seen one of Shyamalan's films since he directed "Signs" and I think he makes a worthy effort. I can quibble about the last five minutes. I prefer a downbeat ending like the scene in the field outside the desolate farm house which is eerie and the music is perfect. The last five minutes after that scene is an anti-climax.
At the screening I attended, this geek nerd exited the theater and loudly announced within everyone's ear-shot that he would personally punch Shyamalan on the nose for writing such a disjointed screenplay. I think that kind of opinion is too harsh. "The Happening" is NOT a brilliant horror film, but it certainly is atmospheric and nerve-wracking in several sequences.