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Reviews
The Happening (2008)
Painful to watch
I have been a huge fan of all of M. Night Shyamalan's movies. So I went into this realizing it would probably not be the typical Hollywood blockbuster, but is so much worse than that.
There is no character development. No plot development. The dialogue is terribly forced and seems very much out of place.
I am sure that fans of this movie will argue that those who don't line just don't understand what Shyamalan was trying to achieve. They will say he was kicking against the Hollywood status quo. Making the viewer have to think and work a little bit (Much like he he did in "Lady in the Water"). I don't mind some work, but the real work was forcing myself not to run screaming out of the theatre.
This movie was quite similar to a Twilight Zone episode. The problem is that instead ob being 20-25 minutes long it was stretched into an excruciating 80 minutes.
Shamylan has encouraged viewers to go into the theatre expecting a fun "B" movie. The Happening definitely had similarities to to a "B" movie, such as: Bad acting, unnecessary dialogue, no real plot, completely anti-climactic and really not making one lick of sense. But Shamylan also seemed to try to hard to make the movie "fun." He threw in smatterings of non-nonsensical/weird dialogue in an attempt to be funny, but it really just made me angry.
Once again, I have enjoyed all of M. Night Shyamalan's previous films, and believe he is a brilliant filmmaker. But The Happening, to put it bluntly, is a worthless piece of crap.
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Absolutely Horrible!
Not only did this picture not deserve to win the best picture Oscar, no human being should be forced to sit through this 2.5 hour monstrosity.
In a vain attempt to create an over the top spectacle Cecil B. DeMille fills half the movie with circus acts and parades. As a boy I loved the circus as much as anyone, and even now I have great respect for the amazing athletic ability of circus performers, but if I wanted that I would watch Cirque de Soleil.
Granted, Charlton Heston does a fine job playing circus boss Brad, but comes nowhere close to saving this mess.
Jimmy Stewart definitely drops a few pegs in book for his boxy portrayal of Buttons The Clown.
With such legendary movies as High Noon and Singin' In The Rain also made that year, The Greatest Show On Earth had no business even being nominated.
Diner (1982)
Some of the best dialogue ever
Some of the best dialogue in any movie (If I didn't know better I would have guessed Tarantino had a hand in this). The diner scenes almost as clever and unique as the diner scene in "Reservoir Dogs."
Stellar performances by some great young actors. This film launched the careers of some skilled actors. Mickey Rourke could actually still be considered attractive. Paul Reiser is at his neurotic best. The scene with Tim Daly and Steve Guttenberg playing and dancing in the strip club is an absolute classic.
But some may find the pacing a little slow and there really is not much of a story. Also, some may find certain characters quite annoying.