Favorite Shyamalan Film??

[Cagliostro]

The Village: I have a crush on the blind girl, but that's the only good thing about the flick.
(haven't seen Lady in the Water)

The lady in the water is the blind girl from the Village. Just so you know. And no, that's not a spoiler. It's just that it is the same actress, not the same character.

The water thing in Signs (now that spoilers are spoiled) gave me a bit of a jolt at first, but I think that is when I figured out what Sly Shy was doing making movies: he made crappy movies into respectable and interesting ones. First, the ghost movie that there have been many crappy versions of. Then his foray into the wonderful world of crappy comic book heroes. Then, the crappy 50's alien invasion movies. I think the Village is maybe when that changed, but maybe was into crappy Victorian novels. And then crappy fairy tales. I haven't seen the Happening, but what I understand, it is crappy Outbreak films.

[Rigel]

My take on the Village is that it was ruined by the advertising.

On its own, it's actually a really good film, thoughtful and provocative. But the advertising made it appear to be something entirely different from what it was, that is, a horror period piece.

I think a lot of the criticism it got was because the advertising attracted people who wanted to see something like "The Howling", and they were upset by the bait and switch.

[ItisWritten]

Actually, I wanted the monsters to be real.

Spoiler

The monster was.

That was the point.

Spoiler

They ran from society's monsters and created their own.

When the blind girl is in the woods and the "monster" just stands there like a statue. That was so well done. When it moved, straight into a run, I shivered.

Movies can startle me, but usually I'm back to normal right away, and pissed that I jumped. That time, that's as close as I get to terror in a theatre. And I wasn't angry about it.

My take on the Village is that it was ruined by the advertising.

Absolutely. 3 people at work were irritated that they paid to see a 'love' story, as one called it.

Favorite? I'm glad there's no poll yet, because I've got 3 floating at the top and they change places often.

The Village
Unbreakable
Sixth Sense

[Worm of Despite]

Sixth Sense was good, and I liked Unbreakable, but everything after that fluctuates between bland to Battlefield Earth. It's made even worse when he puts his name over each film's title, as if it's some auteur piece. More like a warning label not to see it.

[Loredoctor]

Signs.

[Usivius]

i think in one respect that M Night's movies are kinda like Kubrik's, in so far as they are not truly understood or appretiated when they come out.
they are for more subtle than (definately) commercials lead you to believe.

remember: (according to themselves) it's a commercial's job to 'sell' the movie .. to make it better than it really is....

[Cagliostro]

Actually, I wanted the monsters to be real.

Spoiler

The monster was.

That was the point.

Spoiler

They ran from society's monsters and created their own.

Yeah, I got that from watching it, and to my tastes, felt it was a little simple (Kubrick, he is not). But I'm sure you know what I mean by my statement of wanting the monsters to be real.

[Worm of Despite]

If we are to understand Shyamalan's movies, we must de-evolve as a species.

[Usivius]

If we are to understand Shyamalan's movies, we must de-evolve as a species.

[deer of the dawn]

I agree with the comments about Unbreakable. Who else could make a movie about a Superhero with NO SPECIAL EFFECTS!!!!!!!!! that in itself...

My take on the Village is that it was ruined by the advertising.

On its own, it's actually a really good film, thoughtful and provocative. But the advertising made it appear to be something entirely different from what it was, that is, a horror period piece.

I didn't see the advertising (I live in the 3rd world) and had no preconceptions. I loved it because it was fairy-tale-like, it had echoes of Tam Lyn or the one where the girl has to make this mad long journey to find her enchanted husband... ok, and I have a thing for Joachim Phoenix.