Sorry, but don't waste your money!

Rating: 1/10 (24 June 2008)

I am a big fan of every Shyamalan movie since the first. Most people don't like "Lady In The Water" or "The Village", but I think they're great! I own all his movies on DVD. The reason I say this is so that you know I enjoy his work and didn't have anything against him before setting foot in the theater.
With that said, I can't believe how horrible "The Happening" is!! I can't say the acting was bad since Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo were both great! The problem was that they were both over-shadowed by Mark Wahlberg's in-ability to act! He acts like my grandmother drives!!!...and she's dead! I don't understand why he was chosen to lead this movie when M. Night has made so many good choices in the past -i.e. Bruce Willis, Paul Giamatti, etc.
Secondly, I've always loved the "big picture" moral to some of his movies. "Signs" taught us that everything happens for a reason, no matter how bad. "The Village" showed that you can't hide from your past. Even "Lady In The Water" kind of made you feel that everyone has a purpose in life. But without giving anything away, this movies "message" - if it was intended - is so corny that I was in shock! I'm not saying he has to stick with a formula to his movies, or that they all have to have a deep meaning, but at least treat me like an adult! I'm not spoiling the movie, just saying that I've never felt so scolded by a film before! Hopefully I've saved you some money. But more so, hopefully M. Night learns a lesson with this film and goes back a few steps. I'm still a huge fan - I've loved 5 out of 6 films he's directed that I've seen - I just hope I love the next one!