James Kirchick, in TNR, calling "The Happening" "The Most Morally Abhorrent Film Ever Made":
his isn't just radical environemntalist fare; it's perverse and anti-human. Shyamalan cuts immediately from the natural joy of pregnancy to its consequence: mass, nature-inflicted murder. It's not carbon output, styrofoam cups or the clearing of the rain forests that so angers Mother Earth and, thus, her self-appointed human spokesman. It's us.I haven't seen this movie yet, but I'm going to guess that, say, "Triumph of the Will" was more abhorrent than "The Happening." But probably much more skillfully made. Posted by Stephen Silver at June 16, 2008 04:44 PM
To paraphrase South Park "Say what you want about Leni Riefenstahl, but the Nazi witch knew proper story structure."
I had to endure a two minute "sneak peak" of "The Happening" during Galactica on Friday night. The mileage this hack has gotten out of The Sixth Sense is amazing.
Posted by: Tainted Bill at June 16, 2008 09:03 PMSay what you will about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.
Posted by: LilB at June 18, 2008 02:49 AM