On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 51/52 |
Sean Collier |
Am I too mature for a "The Crappening" joke? Apparently not. |
| 96/98 |
David Mumpower |
M. Night Shyamalan was replaced by a Skrull. That's the only logical explanation for how much his films have fallen in quality since Signs. |
| 190/196 |
Max Braden |
I like Wahlberg, he's not the best actor ever, but M. Night's writing just led everyone to deliver their worst performance. So bad it's laughable. |
In 2008, we are now just one year away from the tenth anniversary of the release of The Sixth Sense. Ever since then, writer/director/Hitchcock wannabe M. Night Shyamalan has been trying to duplicate the success of that film, with diminishing returns both financially and critically each time. Now, almost two years after the absolute disaster that was The Lady in the Water, Shyamalan returns with The Happening.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, people are dying. First, they lose their voice. Then, they become disoriented. And then they're gone. Mark Wahlberg and BOP fave Zooey Deschanel play a married couple who are trying to escape the unknown pandemic. Is it terrorist related? A government experiment gone awry? Or is it the trademark M. Night Shyamalan plot twist? (We're betting on the latter.)
There are two things in The Happening's favor as far as the box office is concerned. The first is the trailer comes off as just suspenseful enough. Seriously, what the hell is going on? I admit I'm interested in seeing what Shyamalan has come up with this time. Second is the release date. The calendar falls in his favor this year, as the release date for The Happening is June 13th. That would be Friday the 13th for those keeping score at home. However, seeing as Lady In the Water topped out at $42.2 million and was pretty much hated by everybody (even those who liked The Village), the biggest question The Happening has to answer now is "does anyone still care?" (Tim Briody/BOP)
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