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It’s so hard for me to admit that it did, but The Happening did indeed happen. Wha, wha, I, Wha, huh? I just don’t understand it. I think when you watch so many bad movies you start to get the feeling that you’ve seen it all. Then The Happening comes around and changes things forever. This movie is, it’s, wha, wha, huh?

“You’re trying to murder me in my sleep!!”
“What!?! Nooooooo!”

The Happening is the funniest movie I’ve seen all year. Seriously, there’s so much to love about how bad it really is. Mark Wahlberg transcended the concept of acting entirely.

It was like watching a movie at Grindhouse (the film festival in LA that is), seeing something that is so (I’m assuming) unintentionally bad that you laugh about for days to follow. I would definitely go see it again. What a pile of shit.

Beef - 16 June 2008 03:05 AM

It was like watching a movie at Grindhouse (the film festival in LA that is), seeing something that is so (I’m assuming) unintentionally bad that you laugh about for days to follow. I would definitely go see it again. What a pile of shit.

Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4.

I’m starting to like the guy less and less.

TonyHex - 16 June 2008 03:12 AM

Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4.

I’m starting to like the guy less and less.

Don’t hate on Ebert. I could write a treatise about everything that is great about that man….

I gotta say, I haven’t like Ebert in probably ten years.  Back when he was riding Siskel’s coattails, he was credible but he’s given too many crappy movies good reviews.  When I realized that he would pretty much give any movie a good review if there is a topless woman in it, I lost lots of respect for him.

Stefan Halley - 16 June 2008 07:38 AM

I gotta say, I haven’t like Ebert in probably ten years.  Back when he was riding Siskel’s coattails, he was credible but he’s given too many crappy movies good reviews.  When I realized that he would pretty much give any movie a good review if there is a topless woman in it, I lost lots of respect for him.

Back in the day, when I worked with Siskel I found him to be…. well, I preferred Ebert. I didn’t work with Ebert, I just admired his ethic. Prior to his recent bouts of illness he wrote every single day. Siskel didn’t really write once he had the TV gig and when he did he basically wrote capsule reviews of 100 or so words.

I don’t think that Ebert ever road Siskel’s coat tails - they’re just different creatures. Ebert has always struck me as more thoughtful.

Ebert really thinks about movies, he advocates for audiences and he expects us to ask for better than we get. I don’t always agree with his reviews, and he clearly has a blind spot to movies that are boobalicious - but he’s good. And if you go by the stars and don’t read the reviews, he’d be the first to say that you’re missing out on why he assigns stars the way he does.

I have tons of respect for the man and when you understand where you and Ebert differ in tastes and interests, then you can pretty easily calibrate his reviews.  I love the Ebert and hope to see him again at the Chicago Film festival. Looks like that’s where we’re going to vacation this year - despite my heavy campaigning for 2 weeks in Europe.

I was just teasing you about him riding Siskel’s coat tails.  I do think he lost his touch once Siskel died.  He became EBERT, the legend at the point I feel he quit being a reviewer and became more of a brand.

The art of reviewing wouldn’t be what it is today without his efforts.

Ebert loved Joe Versus the Volcano and I am therefore unable to say a bad word about him.

Wynner - 24 June 2008 09:14 AM

Ebert loved Joe Versus the Volcano and I am therefore unable to say a bad word about him.

What?!  I have you on record, on the show as saying that you don’t like him!  This was around the time his jaw caved-in and he retreated to the sewer system below the theater with his cute little half-mask and pipe organ.

I’m glad you came around though, because aside from a few major disagreements, Ebert does seem like a real film fan and the sort of guy who can enjoy a film like Evil Dead 2 as much as something like Ikiru.  Just like us!

No I know, I used to detest that man. I didn’t agree with most of the things he said and I felt like he pandered to a lot of the big budget family flicks too often. That was until I read an archived review that he did on J.V.V.. Since then it has been really hard for me to bash the guy.

Oh Katie!

I’m not angry. I’m just disappointed.

By the way, when is there going to be more ShowShow?

alyssa - 24 June 2008 06:07 PM

Oh Katie!

I’m not angry. I’m just disappointed.

By the way, when is there going to be more ShowShow?

We record the next show tomorrow night, but I think it’s about time to post the Michael Paul Stephenson interview, so that ought to be going up within the next couple of hours.  It’ll feel good to be back.  We’ve certainly got a lot to talk about.

Good!

By the way, I tried to listen to ShowShow at the dentist on Monday morning. What a mistake. I started giggling, which is not what you want to do when some lady has a bunch of metal bits in your mouth and keeps telling you to hold still.

I had to switch to the Slate Political Gabfest - that’s a laugh-free zone.

alyssa - 25 June 2008 05:36 AM

Good!

By the way, I tried to listen to ShowShow at the dentist on Monday morning. What a mistake. I started giggling, which is not what you want to do when some lady has a bunch of metal bits in your mouth and keeps telling you to hold still.

I had to switch to the Slate Political Gabfest - that’s a laugh-free zone.

Haha. Thanks, Alyssa.

Yeah, I tried some of the Slate podcasts, but they brought my energy down at work and I need that stuff to lift heavy boxes and whatnot.