What the Hell has the Happening to M. Knight? Like watching your favorite ballplayer in a hitting slump, you want him to get back on track. I’m not one of those people who “figured out” “Sixth Sense”. I just loved it. And by the way if you see a movie late in the run after everyone tells you it has a surprise ending, you didn’t crack the code, genius. You went in looking for something. Stop patting yourself on the back. “Signs” made me jump out of my seat and scream on opening weekend. “Unbreakable” was a great movie that was made by and for comic book nerds. I’m not mad at “The Village”. As a stand-up comic I know first hand that they all can’t be homeruns. A .300 hitter strikes out 7 out of 10 times at bat. But when you get some crazy lady in a pool at a condo complex and now this, it may be time for a pinch hitter. I saw the trailer and said, “Guys throwing themselves off roofs and hanging from trees with garden hoses…yes, I’m in.” Some crazy toxin caused by angry plants is making people kill themselves. Sure, if I can suspend my disbelief for flying Iron suits and 98 year old men jumping from moving cars to get a skull, then I can for plants gone mad. But from the beginning I saw good actors directed to act like they were in bad after school specials. When dialogue makes me blurt out in a movie theater, “Are you shittin’ me?” There are problems. I can’t figure out what went wrong. Is it Orson Wells/John Singleton disease? Or just time to find something else. Like when Spike Lee made “25th” hour. A total departure from anything he has done in the past, which made that a very good film. “The Happening” kept me watching because I wanted to know how this was caused. Just when I would get back involved, I would be yanked out by some over the top character trying too hard to be “weird”. Or just more eye rolling dialogue. What is wrong? I just wanted to watch a good movie, not get $11 taken out of my pocket. “Signs” was great because I felt like this was or at least could happen, mainly due to the realistic reactions of everyone in the film. “The Happening” just felt like a low budget direct to DVD film that didn’t realize people were laughing for the wrong reasons. Too many directors create a style and then feel obligated to it. Just tell good stories. That’s it. You don’t need to put in the same shots or crazy characters or wacky twist-a-roo endings. You can make any movie you want. Any way you want. Maybe even have someone else write it. There are plenty of good writers out there. I could even give you their numbers, because most are trying to pay off the debt racked up from the writers strike. Hit the game-winning hit to win the series and all will be forgivin’. I wish I had seen “Hulk”. Palm Strike!
Graham Elwood
