"The Happening" (2008)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Some people label this as a "so bad it's good" movie, but I had a feeling I wouldn't be laughing that much at it. And I was right. But neither did it have me tearing at my hair, like Lady in the Water did. At the end, it just left me wondering, "What the hell did I just see?"
The plot is that a strange epidemic is causing mass suicide, which turns out to be the plants releasing an airborne toxin. Supposedly, it's because the plants see the growing human population as a threat and it's their only way to defend themselves. I know it's supposed to be an environmental message, but it just comes off as stupid.
The characters are stupid too – sometimes insufferably so. For example, there's a scene where a large group of people learn that the attacks are occurring in populated areas, but then they decide they'd be better off staying in big groups. Did you not just hear yourselves, you morons?!
I did laugh a few times, though. Like why does Alma feel that she cheated on Elliot just because she had dessert (yes, dessert!) with another man? And Mark Wahlberg, at one point, delivers one of the most outrageously awful pieces of acting I've ever seen.
Overall, I think the Rotten Tomatoes consensus says it best: it's just an incoherent and unconvincing mess. You just sit there watching it, going, "…What the fuck is this?"

My rating: 25%