MMM: And It's Contagious

'Round here, Mondays begin with music. Those who check into this feature regularly may have noticed my tastes can be all over the place. Every once in a while, the Monday Mood Music and my movie lovin' cross paths. Such is the case this week.

After a month of waiting, I finally got to see two of my favorite yummy thespians, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, in their new film (500) Days of Summer. I'll save my critique for later this week, but I love a movie with music that really stands out (in the complementary way, that is). The music of (500) Days is such a soundtrack, spurring me to add it to my wishlist. I'd say I'd run out and buy it, but I have a feeling my wife may walk through the door with a copy within a day or two. I'd pretty much expected to remember the dreaminess of the leads, so coming away whistling several tunes in my head was just a bonus.

As such, this week's selection is the film's first song, Us, by Regina Spektor. Given my unhealthy obsession over piano-playing ladies, I hate to admit that I don't own any of the Soviet-born artist's albums. (500) Days has reminded me that during my next music bender, I will need to remedy this oversight. When digging into the details of this tune, I was surprised to learn that not only was this her second single (in the UK), it was also from her first album back in 2004. I'm much, much farther behind on her discography than I ever realized.

I'm sure you're not interested in my music collection's gaping Spektor hole; you want to hear this queer little ditty. The accompanying video is bizarrely brilliant, though the director may have had more than a slight preoccupation for Ms. Spektor's mouth; a fetish which I, too, have now contracted. Time to pass it along.

Regina Spektor - Us

Have you seen any movie recently where the soundtrack selections have spoken to you?

MMM: I Can Sing, I Just Chose Not to Sing

*This post is on the Wrath of McCoy! auto-pilot.*

Recently, the television has been blasting one of my new holiday favorites, Elf. I haven't sat down to actually watch it yet, but plan will be to curl up with several other holidays faves and make a weekend of it.

In Elf, Zooey Deschanel played the thirteen-year-younger love interest to Will Ferrell's Buddy. Now looking to tap that, though with an even more questionable eighteen-year age gap is Jim Carrey in the upcoming Yes Man. While I'll save my critique of that film for another time, I want to focus on Zooey.

For those who don't know, Zooey is the vocals, piano and percussion in the duo She & Him. The wifey bought me their debut CD, Volume One, for my b-day and I have been grooving to it frequently since. Well, grooving is a relative term as it has a mellow, old-school country vibe and I find Zooey's voice quite soothing. This selection isn't my favorite from the album, but it's intriguing and bizarre and a perfect selection for this week's mood music:

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

Enjoy the Zooey goodness.

What, No Rerun Tribute?

The Happening


Release: 06.13.2008
Rated R
1 hour, 31 minutes


Group Rental ($)




Oh wait, Fred 'Rerun' Berry was on that great 70's show called What's Happening!!, and this is the new M. Night Shyamalan film The Happening. Really, you couldn't remotely confuse the two, but it makes for a cheesy and forced segue into the review of The Happening. Whether you've seen it or not, you have to be asking yourself, what's happening with The Happening? Let's try and dissect it:

***WARNING: SPOILERS MAY LIE AHEAD***

What's Happening...

With the Story? Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg, Planet of the Apes) is a Philadelphia high school teacher married to Alma (Zooey Deschanel, Winter Passing), an office worker or something or other. Elliot gets word at school that Central Park was ground zero for some sort of terrorist attack and that school will be dismissed. He and Alma meet up with his friend Julian (John Leguizamo, The Honeymooners) at the train station to get out of the city in case there is another attack. More attacks occur, people die and our stars continue to flee from the all-encompassing threat.

With his story-telling? The Happening is downright amateurish. The story is overly simplistic and is practically dragged behind the actors to the finish line. M. Night Shyamalan's films have always relied on deep, well-rounded characters; when you don't have any of those you have The Happening.

With the anti-twist? Shyamalan is famous for his twist endings but the twist here is actually the beginning. The wise words of a lazy student are reiterated in the final scenes. Time and again we are told exactly what is happening with little debate or questioning. How incredibly boring.

With the budget? M. Night couldn't afford spiffy alien costumes and makeup or nifty CGI for a supernatural phenomenon so we settle for a couple of really large fans. Whoosh! Whir! Whoosh!

With casting Wahlberg as a teacher? Dude, no. Totally not believable. Not. At. All.

With Alan Ruck? That's right, Alan Ruck of Ferris Bueller fame is in The Happening. He's in it for all of ninety seconds, and half the time we watch the back of his head. That's just shameful misuse of a That Guy.

With Spencer Breslin? I had high hopes for him after The Kid. Now it looks like he is the Eric Roberts to his sister Abigail's Julia.

With all the J People? Jake, Julian, Jess, Jared, Josh, Mrs. Jones, Joey. I know you like patterns, Mr. Shyamalan, but what was the pattern here? I thought I saw it but it seems like you pussied out on us.

With the Environmental Movement? The "When Plants Attack" premise of M. Night's film single-handedly set back the Go Green initiative by a good decade. Way to kneecap Gore's efforts.

With folks' emotions? Hundreds of thousands of people are dying in the Northeast. Hell, some are falling dead at your feet! Do people scream, run, panic and punch each other in the jejunum for the last ticket on the train out of town? Nope. It's all orderly lines and mild anxiety in Shymalan's world. Has he never seen a George A. Romero film? When shit happens people get raw.

With the mood ring? You'd think it'd be important, right? We practically see Wahlberg masturbate to the thing. I think it had lots to do with emotions and triggering the animosity of the cypresses, but do I look like I give a shit?

With the Lemon Drink? When our characters meet the solitary Mrs. Jones (Betty Buckley, Wyatt Earp), she's sipping a lemon drink as evidenced by the glass with the lemon slice floating in it and her comment about offering them some lemon drink. Um, M. Night, if the bat-shit crazy lady is so insular that she grows her own food and avoids human contact, show me the fucking lemon orchard in western Pennsylvania where she gathers her fruit!

With the R rating? It was nice seeing the large amounts of blood. It would have been better had there been more graphic imagery than what the red band trailer showed. Blew its entire load on me before I even sat down.

With the looks in this picture?

Yep, that's despair. And not for the vicious, invisible killer lurking outside. It's genuine fear of the box-office death their careers may suffer for this.

With the audience? I'll tell you what's happening, we're being suckered out of our hard-earned money!

and lastly...

What's Happening with The Happening? Nothing. Nothing of consequence happens in The Happening. The Happening is bilking thousands of people out of millions of dollars. The Happening robbed me of ninety-one minutes of my life. On the plus side, The Happening is signaling the death knell of M. Night Shyamalan's career. Rest in peace.