I don’t really need to promote or say a lot about what is coming out this weekend, but I will give you a little insight into each movie and what the bulk of the critics are saying about each, and of course I’ll give you my patented ToC™ opinion.
The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth)
There has been a lot reported on about The Incredible Hulk, much of the news coming straight from ToC’s Movie News Headquarters, and there are a lot of people hoping this movie will be great. Some fans still have the bad taste in their mouth left from the previous Hulk movie, and they are a bit jaded towards this new installment.
What Critics Say: The collective opinion from most of the movie critics, both online and in print, is that this Hulk movie is definitely better than the 2003 version in that its story is more accurately balanced and clear combined with a lot of good summer action, but that it’s not a “blow-you-away” superhero movie like Ironman or Batman Begins was. It’s most assuredly not a dud like a lot of people were expecting, but it’s not as revolutionary or mind-blowing as the two films I just mentioned.
What ToC Says: I think with how bad the previous film was and how much hostility there is towards it that the filmmakers of this installment went for a more “safe-summer-blockbuster” action movie to just kind of get their foot back in the door of the fans. I am definitely going to go see it and am not expecting an Ironman-movie, but I am expecting to be entertained and I want to see Edward Norton and how he handles the load of trying to restart a much-loved franchise. Don’t let the old movie ruin this one for you. Look at it this way, can it really get any worse?
The Happening (Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo)
If you remember my Summer Movie Preview, I ended my preview of this movie with “You will not be disappointed” and I think after what I am hearing that I may have mislead you. There has been lots of reports and posts about M. Night and his rocky history with Hollywood studios and his films and how they have steadily spiraled downwards in their success.
What Critics Say: To quote my friend Garth over at Dark Horizons, “Shyamalan’s eco-thriller can fairly be called his worst movie yet.” Anywhere you go, paper, online, CNN, you are going to find negative reviews and opinions about this movie. The critics do not like this movie and they are letting you know.
What ToC Says: People, this is M. Night Shyamalan!! Don’t let anyone persuade you (well, besides ToC of course) to not see this movie based on past experiences, and besides, it’s his first ever main stream R-rated movie and that to me says something. I am excited about seeing this movie and revisiting the world of M. Night Shyamalan.
Enjoy this weekend and if you see any of these 2 movies, please let me know what you thought in the comments.
Popularity: 17%
This is a great weekend for new releases. I hope that both do well and I hope to see both before the leave the theaters!!!
i’m hoping to see both of these this weekend.
the hulk looks great and fun.
the happening looks ridiculously bad (but it’s scripted by shyamalan so should i expect anything different)and i’m really excited to laugh a lot.
We saw the Hulk and enjoyed the movie. It was fun and fast paced and Edward Norton was good in it. It had an interesting cameo at the end that I am puzzled by..can someone explain it to me?
Man, I gotta say that I was excited to see The Happening. I am not one to let critics influence me, but I should have for this movie. I was greatly disappointed. I would recommend this only as a “everything else was sold out and going home was not an option.”
This was Shyamalan’s first rated R movie and it lived up the R rating. R=Ridiculous! The stars lacked chemistry. Mark and Zooey are good (not great) actors, but this wasnt the role for either. There were funny moments between them, but they just didnt go together as a couple.
The storyline was okay, but lacking substance…just seemed to repeat itself without building upon itself. As I sat in the movie I was anticipating the climatic moment that appeared to be coming, but they never arrived leaving me scratching my head.
I heard it said recently that opinions are like rear ends…everyone has one and some are bigger than others. My opinion of this movie…STAY AWAY! Next time…my wife picks the movie!
saw the hulk tonight, and i loved it. it’s not as good as iron man, but it’s pretty great. i was a little disappointed that they kept the character so one dimensional, the comics always had a lot of depth to the character. anyway, a lot of great character moments and amazing fight scenes. i loved the way they used the abomination, even if he looked a little silly. and the setup of tim blake nelson as the leader? that ruled.
the tony stark cameo at the end ties into the samuel l. jackson scene in iron man. he tells tony that he’s setting up an “avengers initiative”, and he brings iron man on board for the initiative. in hulk tony stark is bringing the hulk into the avengers. it’s all leading up the avengers movie in a few years.
scotto, while i think you are pretty dead on with what the happening will be like, i think you are wrong on two things. one, i’m pretty sure the movie is a comedy, based on the clips i’ve seen. you should have been laughing at all the really bad stuff in it.
second, zooey deschanel is pretty much the best actress working in hollywood at the moment. she’s way more than good (not great), she’s phenomenal. and mark wahlberg is pretty great too. his turn in the departed was pretty amazing.
Man Dan, talk about disappointment. Truly I echo everything you have said, I mean its M. Night!! Justin and I have been so excited to see him again in action and all we have heard is negativity!! We’re probably not going to see it now in the theatres and waste a much anticipated night out…thanks for the review!!
Spoiler Alert***
The Happening = scary wind = not so scary = not so fun to watch.
My goodness what a waste. I did feel connected to the characters who wanted to , without control, do anything it takes to kill themselves. So after the movie without thinking i grabbed a handful of half eaten popcorn off the ground and ate as much as I could hoping to choke or instantly get poisoned from the movie butter.
It didnt work, and im still left with the thought that I wasted money on this movie.
We also wanted to see The Happening but after reading all of the above, we aren’t. It doesnt seem to be worth the high ticket prices. Drew’s posting was real funny..thanks for the laugh this morning.