M. Night Shamalamadingdong

[Zapranoth]

So, anyone seen the Happening?

Does it suck?

I read its review on the Onion, and the scathing cascade of comments that followed that review, and the consensus seems to be that yea, verily, it sucketh.

[indianasmith]

I've enjoyed all his movies at some level, and look forward to this one.

[ghouck]

I'm curious about this one also, , ,might go see it. Funny thing is, when I was talking to some guys at work about it, I, BEFORE reading this post, also referred to him as M Night Shamalamadingdong. . .

[Raffine]

The ads seem really odd to me. Here's what I posted on another thread:

Does anyone else think the TV spots for "The Latest Film by the Director of THE SIXTH SENSE and SIGNS" are really strange, and seem to have been over PR'd to the point of absurdity?  The ads never mention his name, pointedly do not mention UNBREAKABLE, THE VILLAGE, and THE LADY IN THE WATER, and make a big deal about the fact this is a R rated film.  I don't think I remember any film ever touting it's MPAA rating - unless it was a XXX or maybe that PG "NOW! BJ-FREE!" version of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER.

[Ash]

So far it has received generally negative reviews.  Most of them complaining about how boring it is.

Roger Ebert liked it and gave it 3 out of 4 stars.
Read his review HERE.

[Mr. DS]

I personally never understood Shamalamandingdong's popularity.  I never found his films scary and Signs was one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever viewed.  In other words, I wouldn't be surprised if this film sucks. 

Does anyone else think the TV spots for "The Latest Film by the Director of THE SIXTH SENSE and SIGNS" are really strange

I'm thinking this is because announcers/sound engineers everywhere are sick of mispronouncing his name. 

[ulthar]

Funny thing is, when I was talking to some guys at work about it, I, BEFORE reading this post, also referred to him as M Night Shamalamadingdong. . .

I call him that as well.   

My wife asked me last night when I said that, "so, is that what all your buddies on BadMovies call him?"

Personally, i cannot stand him.  He hit it good with SIXTH SENSE and since then, formulaic.  He's VERY stuck on himself - DVD commentary and 'making of' full of crew comments like "Night did this, Night came up with that" blah blah BLAH.  It's a M. Night worship fest.

I spend money on a rental of SIGNS.  Other than that and SIXTH SENSE, I've not given him a dime.  I don't see that changing for this one, either.

Does anyone else think the TV spots for "The Latest Film by the Director of THE SIXTH SENSE and SIGNS" are really strange

I'm thinking this is because announcers/sound engineers everywhere are sick of mispronouncing his name.

That, and his stinking ego.  At best, neither was THAT GREAT a movie - okay, mildly entertaining, but not film-making-changing.  Yet the wording in the trailer suggests he invented motion pictures or something.

I think I'd rather Ewe Boll keep making movies than M. Night Shamalama-ding-dong.

[AndyC]

I liked The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, but haven't enjoyed any of the others. Don't get me started on everything that was wrong with Signs, but The Village was, by far, the most disappointing pile of crap yet. I don't know about you, but when I go to a monster movie with a surprise, I don't want the surprise to involve a lack of actual monsters. The cheesy Twilight Zone twist ending (that I guessed the first time someone was discouraged from going to town) was equally disappointing.

[Raffine]

At best, neither was THAT GREAT a movie - okay, mildly entertaining, but not film-making-changing.  

I accidentally caught most of THE SIXTH SENSE again about a week ago.

Yes, it's an interestingly constructed film but I found, for me, at least, it was only good for exactly two viewings: the first time for the uniqueness and the SURPRISE!, and the second time to notice all the little hints leading up to the SURPRISE!

Watching it for the third time seemed a bit pointless - sort of like multiple viewings of that backwards Guy Pearce movie from a few years back, whatever the heck it was called . . .  

Don't get me started on everything that was wrong with Signs

The idea that God would rely on a Rube Goldberg-like collections of vague clues and puzzles to save mankind struck me as particularly funny.  What's wrong with a good ol' fashioned lightening bolt (or cloud burst)?

And if you're going to try to conquer a planet, it's a good job to not pick one that is mostly covered with a substance that can fry your ET asses like boiling sulphuric acid. 

[The Burgomaster]

Here are some statistics and (sometimes hilarious) quotes from rottentomatoes.com:

60 out of 76 contributors gave this movie a "rotten tomato" rating.  Overall, it scored 21 on a scale of 100.





"You feel like you're not watching the end of the world but the end of a career."



"There's a long tradition of receiving messages from burning bushes, but jiggling bushes are not to be trusted, and neither are filmmakers who ask us to shiver in their leafy midst."



"It's downright stupid."



"No one will watch any of Shyamalan's recent films twice. A movie that features Wahlberg suggesting everyone try to outrun the wind can barely be watched once."



"Wahlberg turns in one of his worst performances ever, but then he's saddled with preposterous scenes (like one where he tries to placate a ficus) and such lame lines as "Could this really be happening?" Funny, I was wondering the same thing myself."



"...bad in more than just an everyday, sure-does-suck kind of way."



"The greatest excuse yet to get that anti-M. Night petition started. The last thing we want is a future of Shyamalan films with the knowledge that we all could have done something sooner."



"The Happening quickly deteriorates into the worst movie of M. Night Shyamalan's career... and that's saying something."



"one of the worst attempts at end-of-the-world ominousness since the Robot Holocaust battled the Ninja Apocalypse"



"The true disaster on display in The Happening is Shyamalan's career hitting rock bottom."

[ulthar]

Here are some statistics and (sometimes hilarious) quotes from rottentomatoes.com:

Thanks, Burgo.  Those ARE hilarious.

[ghouck]

Signs was one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever viewed. 

I'm surprized at the amount of hate that 'Signs' gets here. I liked the film, and it kinda creeped me out, much more than just about any other horror flick I've seen (Except maybe Children of the Corn, which totally had me when I was younger). The only think I didn't like about Signs was the whole water thing, , but that's coming fro mthe assumption that every form of life is similar to our own, and that every habitable planet is also similar.

Many of the supposed ultra-scarey movies fail to move me at all, , Sign just seemed to hit a nerve so to speak.

[Torgo]

I thought that both The Sixth Sense & Unbreakable were front to back excellent movies.

Signs was really good up until the last 15 minutes when it completely fell apart IMO.

The Village was terrible and Lady in the Water was even worse.

I really have no interest in seeing The Happening unless it's to see if it's as bad as all of the reviews are saying it is.

[AndyC]

I'm kind of torn because the advertising makes it look really cool, and the R rating suggests we might see something. But then, I remember that it's Shamalamalamon (got the name from Dale Gribble), and that The Village looked extremely cool in previews too.

Just have to keep in mind that M. Night's last few movies all have the same surprise:
"Surprise! You were duped into seeing a movie that really sucked!"

[Shadow]

Today on the radio, someone who saw the sneak preview the other night revealed what the twist was in this film (the reason people start killing themselves) and I have to say, it sounds like one of the most asinine things ever. The mere idea seems like something out of some cheesy old 50's or 60's film. I cannot imagine how the idea can be executed without coming off as...well, as flat out stupid.