Say Good Night to M.Night - SPOILERS

Rating: 1/10 (16 July 2008)

I have given M.Night movies their last chance.
In 1999 I was blown away by a film written and directed by a local unknown writer/director. The Sixth Sense was nothing like I had seen before. It was one of the few films I had seen where I had NO CLUE what was going to happen. It was well written, directed and acted. I looked forward to M. Night Shyamalan's next film.
Next came Unbreakable. It was not really my "kind" of film, but enjoyable. I was still a fan. His next film, Signs, was filmed in my neighborhood and I watched Mel Gibson rehearse, and followed Joaquin Phoenix down the street in the Philly burbs. I found Signs to be suspenseful and, again, well directed and acted. The Village may not have been a 10, but the cast was fantastic and the twist worth the price of admission, in my opinion. I was still a fan.
Then came Lady In the Water. I am still trying to figure that one out. At least people talked about it. And Paul Giamatti was in it. Not much else I can say. My faith in M. Night was really fading...but I was still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I mean, he DID write and direct The Sixth Sense! NO MORE. M. Night, you have lost my paid admission. Perhaps you have lost your place in Hollywood, too. The Happening was the worst movie I have seen in...well, ever. The writing was watered down, the characters were one dimensional and the actors brought nothing to the role (wasn't Mark Wahlberg nominated for an Oscar once???). He and Zooey D. seemed embarrassed to be in the film. There was no suspense after the first 10 minutes. The shock and awe was there (a man gets run over by a lawn tractor and blood spurts from a head wound like a cheap horror flick) but no substance. This film had the look and feel of a student film.
SPOILERS: After approximately 10 minutes of setting up what could have been an interesting film about human nature being "controlled" by some toxic substance of earth, ended up being 80 minutes of people running away from the wind. Literally. I did not buy this premise one bit and the only possibility of a unique view (the lonely women who couldn't grow plants played by Betty Buckley) ended up being squashed when she, in turn, is killed by the plants in the wind. Oh, then all of a sudden when the two main characters venture out into the "wind", the toxins stop. How convenient! Oh and make sure that you end this story with the ever cliché pregnancy. I couldn't have guessed that one. the theater emptied with SILENCE. There was nothing to talk about.
This film felt like a student's attempt to force feed you the director's view on global warming and that if we keep abusing Mother Nature, it will lash back like in some science fiction film. I have given M. Night Shyamalan his last chance to "wow" me with his talent. Fool me one, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me. It is over.