asalem182

I never understood why critics (and audiences) were so hard on M. Night Shyamalan. I honestly believe that Lady in the Water and The Village are his best films (sue me!). That's why I overlooked The Happening's negative buzz, and went to see it on its opening day. To my surprise, critics were right (for the most part), and Shyamalan has disappointed me for the first time.

The idea of an airborne toxic that causes people to unconsciously hurt themselves is genuinely original, creepy, and effective. Fittingly, Shyamalan comes up with the scariest death scenes in recent memory. My fiancée had to cover her eyes multiple times. Moreover, The Happening has a couple of excellent jump scares. Needless to say, Shyamalan is still excellent at composing his scenes. And as usual, James Newton Howard's score rocks. Unfortunately, that's were the good news ends.

The very first scene of The Happening puts you right in the middle of the action. But that's probably why the film runs out of steam so quickly. This should've been a 75-80 minute film. Basically, nothing happens in the second half. We're just introduced to a couple of freaky, freaky characters. Mrs. Jones in particular did get huge laughs at my showing. And BTW, I was perfectly fine with the explanation the film came up with. After all, this is a super-natural thriller.

Shyamalan was always able to get excellent performances out of his leads. I'd even say that's his trademark. However, Mark Wahlberg totally lets him down. He was terrible. He has same look on his face whether he's scared, joking, or thinking. The tone of his voice rarely changed as well. His turn single-handedly eliminates the emotional impact of a lot of scenes. Remember Lady in the Water's Healing scene? I cried like a baby when I saw that. The Happening has a similar "redemption" scene, but frankly, I couldn't care less. Deschanel was even worse. She was just standing there, reciting her lines. She got better near the end though.

Musical biopics are a dime a dozen these days; Ray in 2004, Walk the Line in '05, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man in '06, and finally, La Vie En Rose in '07. However, La Vie En Rose, which chronicles the life of French singing legend Edith Piaf, is not your typical biography. Trying to put a spin on the genre, director Olivier Dahan decided to present Piaf's life via a broken chronology, leaping back and forth across time without apparent rhyme or reason. I felt that decision was both a gift and a curse. Yes, it did add some originality to the whole thing, but then again, it's hard to be invested in a storyline that jumps around so much. In addition, I thought half the actors were overacting (Raymond, Piaf's music instructor comes to mind). Rose is also too melodramatic, and extremely depressing. In fact, La Vie en Noir would've been a more fitting title. Nevertheless, I'd still recommend watching this flick. Academy award winner Cotillard, who completely transformed herself into Piaf, injects so much life, energy and passion into her character that she elevates the film to another level. Her performance literally sent shivers down my spine. The make-up was phenomenal as well, and the Oscar win is totally deserved.

A long time ago, in a land far far away, films aimed at children used to be intelligent, used to have a heart. Now, we're stuck with likes of Daddy Day Camp, Shrek the Third and Are we Done Yet? Fortunately (and surprisingly), Bridge to Terabithia is a throwback to the films we fell in love with while we were growing up. The film tells the story of Jesse (Hutcherson) and Leslie (Robb), a couple of kids who invent a magical place called Terabithia where they dub themselves the King and Queen. Terabithia reminded me of why I love movies in the first place. It was a clever, magical, and visually stunning flick about the wonders of imagination and friendship. The film also has its heart in the right place. It's heartwarming, touching, and I'm sure there won't be a dry eye in the house by the time the credits roll. Hutcherson and (especially) Robb were both excellent, and the rest of the cast was pretty solid as well. However, the film isn't flawless. There was a subplot about school bullies that went nowhere, and I felt there were some slow spots but still, Terabithia was one of the best family films of recent memory.