M. Night Shamaylan

Rating: 3/10 (8 August 2009)

Night is a fabulous, almost genius film maker. Signs, sixth Sense, etc. The only problem with Signs was the lack of Winchester Pump 12 gauge shot guns. Signs was filmed in rural farmland PA and EVERY FARMER has at least one shotgun. Those green guys would have been stacked like logs for the winter.
The Happening was simply not believable. Mark Wahlberg and John Leguizamo are solid actors if not super stars. They always deliver solid performances (even in Collateral Damage with Arnold he did great work). Their acting in Happening was a bit better than a high school play; however, Night gave them very little substantive material to work with.
The premise of the film, that humans are considered by Nature to be a virus on the planet is just more Lefty lunacy (Yes the Left actually subscribes to the foolishness – solution: all the Left cut themselves shaving and go swimming at Stinson Beach, North Ca). Somehow the plants are mad at us and accelerate their evolutionary processes (normally taking thousands of generations) and decide to release some "compound" (what an ominous word) into the air causing Humans to leap to their deaths, hang themselves, and pickup guns and shoot themselves, yeah, right! Maybe you but not me!
The Happening becomes one of those B films that you turn to at 2 AM and just HAVE TO SEE THE END desperately hoping that there will be one redeeming quality of the film (skin?).
Night better get his act together for his next project or he will drop from the "A List" to the "F List" (Forgotten). Most of his films, especially with Bruce, have been great.
The movie is simply not worth your time, watching C-Span at 2 AM is better time spent.
Yours truly, Thomas Capital Management, www.thomascapitalmgt.com