# Xx



## C.M.Dess (Jun 13, 2008)

XX


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## Christian Marcussen (Jun 13, 2008)

Well the rating is 'ok'... I'm still going to see it as I generally like his films.


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## Bruce Richardson (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

I think he was a one-trick pony. _The Sixth Sense_ was a decent commercial film. He lost me on _Signs._ It's literally the only time I've booed in a theater. If you're going to do a sci-fi driven protagonist flick, you need something a lot scarier than stuntmen in fancy wetsuits squirting poison gas out of their fingernails as aliens.

You can't do a film like that on the cheap...using TV's on the set, for instance, in order to show a massive alien attack. You've gotta actually spend the bucks and put it in the frame. He makes films that might be good if Spielberg directed them and they had 4x the budget (and some rewrites of the sappy dialog).


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## Waywyn (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

Hehe, this is funny. Writing critics for movies is the same as I want to make someone loves to smell at a pile of shit or ignore the phat cool chocolate cake in that window 

"War of the Worlds" got such cool critics and this was really a movie I boo'ed at the cinema. I had to laugh hard, especially at the ending ... if someone asks me how cheese tastes but the guy wouldn't be able actually taste food, I would recommend the ending of that movie 

It's all personal opinions in the end.

Well, I should add that I didn't see "The Happening" yet, but since the upper post contained big time spoiling (although it will be clear after the first plot) I won't enjoy the movie as much as I enjoyed the waiting time and the trailers.


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## Waywyn (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*



C.M.Dess @ Fri Jun 13 said:


> It does nothing to win, earn and deserve the audience's emotional and intellectual trust. It doesn't employ image as its main storytelling tool. It just tries to be clever, but is actually quite silly.



*LOL* I remember "Starship Troopers. The same words would fit to that movie ... and? I think it was kind of entertaining  ... and as far as I remember the movie was no1 for a very long time in the US.


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## madbulk (Jun 13, 2008)

Shyamalan takes heat as a default, it seems to me. I always enjoy his movies warts and all.


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## midphase (Jun 13, 2008)

Brian,

You can really seriously tell me with a straight face that you enjoyed Lady in the Water?


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## artsoundz (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

yeah- that was a weird one. But "Unbreakable" was good. 

LOVED Starship Troopers./ The subsequent 2 and 3 were horrible.


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## choc0thrax (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

Shamalyananan is a hack, I said it years ago and my friends all disagreed. Everytime I see the trailer for The Happening I burst out laughing at Mark Wahlberg's acting.


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## kid-surf (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

I feel bad, mostly, for an acquaintance who represents him. It's common knowledge that the script was "passed on" throughout the industry. If I were M Knight that would have been my clue to do a DEEP rewrite (page-1? Perhaps...). I feel bad because I know it's going to be tough for his agent to get him work. Really... it's about time he directed someone else's script. He may have to at this point...? Or... finally write a script that KILLS in this town. If the film is really that bad he's surely lost much trust...



> The films is just waving its fists and again telling us what to think rather than earning our trust. It tells us what its about. Basically the film underestimates us every step of the way.
> 
> *--SNIP--*
> 
> "The Happening" is a failure on the most basic and important of cinematic levels. It does nothing to win, earn and deserve the audience's emotional and intellectual trust. It doesn't employ image as its main storytelling tool. It just tries to be clever, but is actually quite silly.




Those ideas are my general gripe with screenwriting/current crop of films... most scripts I read are that way (trite - meaningless). It's shocking to see so many writers write that sort of garbage, and worse, producers signing off on these horrible scripts... Which leaves everyone scratching their heads when the film hits the streets and is quickly deemed flat-out-worthless. One day soon a few of these folks may realize that we writers/directors/producers/development execs are NOT smarter than the audience... we ARE the audience, so let's actually want to PAY to see what we create. Let's earn our audience, as they don't owe us a damn thing. WE owe them... quality.

The problem for someone who actually writes subtext while trying to EARN the audience, is that... too many of the industry folks reading these scripts don't UNDERSTAND subtext. Maybe they do, or would if they'd slow themselves down to then pay attention -- the way one does when they watch a film -- instead they too often "just want to get through the script". This leads to wanting to be slapped in the face with story, theme, plot points, character wants, etc. Works for a shit-it-out read... doesn't make for a good film. But it's kind of too late at that point, once it's in development, it's only going to get watered down from there. It rarely gets better from that point...

The "clever script" with no HONEST emotional spine to earn our subconscious (read: difficult to write), man, those scripts are a dime a dozen, and they are getting made left and right. Bad enough that studio-land is all over those bad scripts, now it's indie too. I honestly don't remember the last time I read a script that blew me away. I've read plenty of scripts BEGGING to be made... it's transparent and offensive. Not to mention pathetic... 

This is a tuff battle when you are an honest writer digging deep enough to try and EARN any reaction the audience gives. Tuff battle to write in a way where you TRUST the audience to come TO your story because it is well written. Tuff battle because you, as a writer/director, must thread the eye of the Hollywood needle in order to get to that smart audience, which is most of them. Pushing your story on the audience is about as crappy as constructing a worthwhile film gets. Trust me, those aren't the films we remember, they also aren't the films that effect our lives in any way. They are akin to the nursery rhymes of composing... 

I, for one, refuse to write garbage just to get a film made. I wish more people felt that way. The bar would raise and we'd all have more competition, fine. I like earning my way. I want my films to matter the way many did years ago... Chinatown/Ordinary People/Network/Harold and Maude/One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest/Midnight Cowboy/Taxi Driver/Broadcast News/Dog Day Afternoon/Thelmaòa|   |5¶a|   |5·a|   |5¸a|   |5¹a|   |5ºa|   |5»a|   |5¼a|   |5½a|   |5¾a|   |5¿a|   |5Àa|   |5Áa|   |5Âa|   |5Ãa|   |5Äa|   |5Åa|   |5Æa|   |5Ça|   |5Èa|   |5Éa|   |5Êa|   |5Ëa|   |5Ìa|   |5Ía|   |5Îa|   |5Ïa|   |5Ða|   |5Ña|   |5Òa|   |5Óa|   |5Ôa|   |5Õa|   |5Öa|   |5×a|   |5Øa|   |5Ùa|   |5Úa|   |5Ûa|   |5Üa|   |5Ýa|   |5Þa|   |5ßa|   |5àa|   |5áa|   |5âa|   |5ãa|   |5äa|   |5åa|   |5æa|   |5ça|   |5èa|   |5éa|   |5êa|   |5ëa|   |5ìa|   |5ía|   |5îa|   |5ïa|   |5ða|   |5ña|   |5òa|   |5óa|   |5ôa|   |5õa|


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## Synesthesia (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*



kid-surf @ Fri Jun 13 said:


> /Broadcast News/



Kid,

I *love* that film. One of my all time favorite films, and I'm constantly amazed by how few people have heard of it..

A great script, beautiful heart-wrenching performances and a great score..

I agree 100% with everything you have written above. Sadly I think a renaissance is some way off!

cheers,

Paul


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## madbulk (Jun 13, 2008)

midphase @ Fri Jun 13 said:


> Brian,
> You can really seriously tell me with a straight face that you enjoyed Lady in the Water?



I most certainly could.
But I didn't see Lady In The Water.


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## JohnnyMarks (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

[quote:5448342ce8="kid-surf @ Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:53 am"]
I, for one, refuse to write garbage just to get a film made. I wish more people felt that way. The bar would raise and we'd all have more competition, fine. I like earning my way. I want my films to matter the way many did years ago... Chinatown/Ordinary People/Network/Harold and Maude/One Flew òa   |;a   |;a   |;a   |;a   |;a   |;a   |;a   |;	a   |;
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## kid-surf (Jun 13, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

Paul -- Great flick, eh! The renaissance: Sadly, I agree with you, but I keep my fingers crossed in hopes that one of these people I meet will want to make a film that's "good". :D 

Johnny -- Thanks. I try to imagine what it must have been like "back in the day" to be able to write a script that meant something and see it get made. Now a' days those scripts are called "writing samples".  Agreed, gotta ignore all that and push on. 

It's often said "this is a business". My general take is different. My take is that: Great art possesses a value far more extraordinary than money. After all, people win money, they find it, it's given to them, they steal it, etc. Point is -- sometimes we must invest in great art for the sake of it existing in our world. That's plenty of reason. (to me) :D


...But that's the macro battle.


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## kid-surf (Jun 13, 2008)

Waywyn @ Fri Jun 13 said:


> ...and definitely containing a big and important message to all the people out there. I think it is pretty obvious.
> 
> So even I also think that Sixth Sense was his best movie, I also enjoyed The Village (maybe I was stupid enough by not knowing until around the end what was going on) and Signs - but only right BEFORE the "holy" end




An important "message" is not supposed to be obvious in a film unless the writing is bad. Plain and simply, that's bad, careless writing. We are supposed to FIND the message as opposed to being TOLD the message. That's why great writing ain't easy... it's like a magic trick for the subconscious.

As well, not knowing what's going on until the end of a film is also a fairly huge "sign" (excuse the pun  ) of bad writing. I'll put it into composer terms: Imagine you've got a piece of music that makes no sense in shape and form until the last few notes. While their were notes occurring before the piece came together in anyway, doesn't mean those notes made sense. Know what I mean?

Screenwriting is harder than it looks. I would say the best compliment a screenwriter/director could receive is "I loved your film, but I have no idea why". Cool, means the seams were tucked in, means the subtext was working in full force. 

Having said that... the "message" in his new film is getting slammed, as it is blatant and presumptuous. Why? Because he's presuming to know more than WE do. That's a fatal mistake for any film. The shittiest films always take that POV.


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## Bruce Richardson (Jun 13, 2008)

Waywyn @ Fri Jun 13 said:


> and Signs - but only right BEFORE the "holy" end



That's the precise moment I began to "boo." Not sure if I instigated it, or if it was spontaneous, but there were at least ten or fifteen other people booing.

That was just absolutely one of the most hack moments in film history. Sheer crapulence. As if the whole film hadn't been trite and preachy enough, you had to endure that long pan with shlocky music to the "holy moment."

That and the green-wetsuit-stuntmen-with-poison-gas-fingernails. And the tearjerker wife death scene. BOO.


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## mixolydian (Jun 14, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

A german tv magazine spoiled The Happening before it was in cinemas. How bad is this compared to a weird story?!


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## Christian Marcussen (Jun 14, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*



> That and the green-wetsuit-stuntmen-with-poison-gas-fingernails. And the tearjerker wife death scene. BOO.



What annoyed be was that is wasn't a man in a suit but a crap piece of CGI.

Anyway... I'm not sure why you would boo at the "Holy" aspects of Signs. It goes very nice with the film, its themes and title... it's not just something he pulled out of is ass at the last moment. It all was building iup (nicely) toward it. Personally I'm a "devout" atheist, but I can still enjoy the holyness of a film even if I dont beleive in it - I can still appretiate it. 

In regards to Unbrakable - actually I find that to be his best films - I really like it! The Sixth Sense I saw on rental, and unfortunately the twist had been spoiled - so while I liked it, it was not the second coming for me. 

The only one of his films I have a hard time with is Lady in the Water. What went wrong there for me, was I began too late to see it with the right set of mindframe. It dawned to late on me what kind of story it was... Like watching The Neverending Story but expecting something like Atonement. 

Signs and The Village are both quite good... anyway - I'm hoping I willenjoy The Happening. 

But when all is said and done - Shyamalan tends to bring out the best in James Newton Howard, so for that we can at least be grateful :D


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## Waywyn (Jun 14, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

I think, and I also speak for Bruce here, that Shamlalaynalynlayan has overdone the holy aspect. It felt like explaining a joke right afterward you told it. It was obvious to see, that he get back to his religion and profession ... but to see it actually was a bit cheesy. To make it really awful they could have added that funny fairytale narrator at the end: "... and theeeeen, they lived in peace and happyness"


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## Waywyn (Jun 14, 2008)

kid-surf @ Sat Jun 14 said:


> Waywyn @ Fri Jun 13 said:
> 
> 
> > ...and definitely containing a big and important message to all the people out there. I think it is pretty obvious.
> ...



Hey kid, I hear ya!

... but why is it bad writing that the viewer is being left in the dark until around the end? I mean the same happened for me with "The Others" and I think it feels good to get that certain surprise at the end. The whole movie built up of course and at a certain point you had a guess - but it wasn't obvious to me right after 30 minutes of the movie.


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## trisonic (Jun 14, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

Here's my 6 cents (pun intended).

I quite enjoyed Sixth Sense but even I worked out the "twist" at the end about 15 minutes into the movie (and usually I'm very gullible when I sit in a cinema).
"The Village" would have been done as a 30 minute live play by the BBC in the sixties and whilst I thought that "Signs" was beautifully filmed the overall concept sucked badly...the idea that a seemingly intelligent race of beings allergic to water would "invade" a planet made up of 80% (or more) of water full of beings similarly so constructed is laughable - it would have been a bad "pulp" book in the early thirties.

With the new one it sounds similar to the "Day of the Triffids" but without the thrillls - can we expect him to cover "The Midwich Cuckoos" (aka The Village of the Damned") next?

Best, Pete.


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## choc0thrax (Jun 14, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*



Christian Marcussen @ Sat Jun 14 said:


> Shyamalan tends to bring out the best in James Newton Howard, so for that we can at least be grateful :D



JNH's score for The Happening sounds pretty lame to me.


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## Christian Marcussen (Jun 14, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*



choc0thrax @ Sat Jun 14 said:


> Christian Marcussen @ Sat Jun 14 said:
> 
> 
> > Shyamalan tends to bring out the best in James Newton Howard, so for that we can at least be grateful :D
> ...



Ok. Thats too bad. I haven't heard it. :(


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## choc0thrax (Jun 14, 2008)

*Re: "The Happening" being brutalized on IMDB*

There's soundclips of it in the choco's cool links thread.


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