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4 articles from 2008

2 July 2008 10:43 AM, PDT | From ifc.com | See recent IFC news

By Alison Willmore

For the many ill-wishers out there, the most disappointing thing about M. Night Shyamalan's environmental thriller "The Happening" wasn't that it was a failure, but that it wasn't a spectacular failure. Critics went in with their long knives out, only to leave shrugging that they've seen worse. Having made $59 million in theaters, it's not even the box office bomb some expected after "Lady in the Water." All in all, "The Happening" is actually pretty successful, considering it's a serious horror film about trees... that kill! In honor of that dubious designation, here's a look at the spotty history of films about murderous botanic life that have preceded it.

Killer tomatoes

Film: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)

Directed by John De Bello

M.O.: Produce that, for no apparent reason, become massive and murderous.

De Bello's broad comedy mocked B-movie conventions while bearing its reported $90,000 budget like a badge of honor.

Alison Willmore

13 June 2008 10:36 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

M. Night Shyamalan, the writer-director famous for ending his films with surprising twists has returned to the screen with The Happening. But those expecting to see his signature ending will likely be disappointed. As Elizabeth Weitzman writes in the New York Daily News. "The big twist is that ... there's no twist at all. None. Zip. Nada." Several critics express disappointment that Shyamalan, after a series of blunders, has not made the kind of comeback they were hoping for. Claudia Puig in USA Today concludes her review by remarking, "Shyamalan's work has been deteriorating since the stir he caused in 1999 with The Sixth Sense. ... His last couple of movies --The Village and Lady in the Water -- have been particular disappointments, and The Happening continues the trend." Kyle Smith in the New York Post gives mostly two-word reviews for all of Shyamalan's movies since The Sixth Sense: "Stupid ending, stupid ending, stupid ending and, in a change of pace with his last film, Lady in the Water, stupid all the way through." Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times says that not all the blame should be laid at Shyamalan's feet. Costar Mark Washlberg, she writes, gives "one of the worst performances of his career." But Manohla Dargis in the New York Times comments that the critics' knives were sharpened for Shyamalan even before the movie was screened for them. As for herself, she considers the film, "a divertingly goofy thriller with an animistic bent, moments of shivery and twitchy suspense and a solid lead performance from Mark Wahlberg." Likewise Glenn Whipp concludes in the Los Angeles Daily News that The Happening is "creepy, silly fun. And if it came from anyone else, it would be recognized as such. One thing is certain: The man hasn't lost his ability to entertain."

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12 June 2008 2:17 PM, PDT | From avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news

M. Night Shyamalan used to have a vast army of fans. Now he has a dwindling network of apologists. The former frightmaster's descent from wunderkind to embarrassment has been unusually dramatic and public, thanks not only to the high-profile failures of The Village and Lady In The Water, but also to such bizarre, backfiring ego-stroking endeavors as The Man Who Heard Voices, Michael Bamberger's fawning, sycophantic account of the making of Lady In The Water, and the self-indulgent faux-documentary The Buried Secret Of M. Night Shyamalan. Shyamalan should be glad he makes movies primarily in Pennsylvania instead of Hollywood, because under California's "three strikes" law, he'd be facing hard time in movie jail thanks to his third consecutive disaster, The Happening. A miscast Mark Wahlberg stars as a science teacher whose soothing, almost hypnotic vocal patterns seem modeled on the paternal purr of Mr. Rogers. Wahlberg's humdrum existence changes...

Nathan Rabin

2 June 2008 6:03 PM, PDT | From iconsoffright.com | See recent Icons of Fright news

Shooting has begun on the new Terminator movie Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins under the direction of McG over in New Mexico. The flick stars Christian Bale in the lead role as the adult John Conner and originally, the role of his wife Kate Conner was set to be played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. The Hollywood Reporter is now saying that Gainsbourg had to bow out due to a scheduling conflict and now Bryce Dallas Howard is in negotiations to replace her. Howard appeared in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village and Lady In The Water, as well as last year's summer blockbuster Spider-man 3. We'll keep you posted on more news when we hear it!

4 articles from 2008