There’s no doubt that the second trailer and re-jiggered ad campaign for M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening is a much better, more effective selling of the film, to whatever degree it lives or dies on its own. Portions of it summon to mind Will Smith’s recent, post-apocalyptic I Am Legend (perhaps to its comparative detriment, perhaps to its benefit — too soon to tell). I noticed an interesting thing about the mass-market billboards, though — in the righthand corner, the MPAA ratings box and information is distinguished by a red R rating. This is a subtle way of giving the movie some edge, cleaving Shyamalan from the recent taint of his reputation, and saying, “Look, this really isn’t another Lady in the Water… we don’t know what the hell that was about either.” It’ll be interesting to see how The Happening fares in its box office showdown against The Incredible Hulk next week, though instinct tells me (no matter its mixed buzz) not to bet against the PG-13 flick, this past weekend’s robust returns on The Strangers notwithstanding.