Night Shyamalan Films

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So what did you think of "The Happening" in fact? You didn't say, despite having seen it. Is there hope, ( for Shyamalan, I mean ) ?

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The happening is much, much better than "the lady in the water". I'd venture to say that it's better than Signs (which I didn't really think was brilliant) and on a par with unbreakable and the village.

The movie itself is quite exciting and promises a lot. In the end, like most of his recent films, it's the attempt to pull an unguessable "twist" using "dull and unbelievable" everyday things, that sinks the film. (and would have been responsible for bad reviews).

Curiously, the film reminds me a lot of "Pulse" (the Japanese version, not the US crapmake). The story isn't similar, just the "feel". I wonder what the script would have looked like in the hands of a "darker" director.

If you can suspend disbelief, the happening is one of his better films.

Perhaps I'll try seeing/getting it then. I would like to know "where" he is at the moment, because his films do seem to tell a story about him which is interesting in itself, like a blog on/in film, ( I just avoided "Lady" because "The Village" was so desperately, painfully bad ).

Thinking some more about "Unbreakable"; that perhaps the two protagonists are supposed to represent two real people with different approaches to finding meaning, but the handling of their characters in the film is so threadbare, so impersonal, that is difficult to believe in either of them.

I think that is a mess of a film, ( like a first rough sketch, despite being relatively watchable ), but Shyamalan says it is one of his favourites and best, which suggests that he sees it has having expressed something perfectly, and the only thing that it in its current form seems to express perfectly is that actively trying to make meaning/purpose, ( rather than waiting for life to bring it to you, or believing in it without needing to be/do anything in particular ), is necessarily destructive.

I think it expresses immense guilt about something one has done to achieve things, and a self-righteous turning away from that, rather than grief about, and compassionate understanding of, one's own "brokenness". I do wonder when he will get over this. Maybe "The Happening" is freer of such guilt and self-righteousness.

I hope that he will continue being able to make films because they are so refreshingly direct, if naive, in their examination/exploration of psychological and/or spiritual issues/themes, and this is rare.

By the way, does anyone think that he may be on, or near, the spectrum, a "twice-exceptional" ( gifted and AS ) perhaps?

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SIXTH SENSE: A classic. Nearly flawless. This is probably because M. Night had editors and producers to reel him in.

UNBREAKABLE: As a comic book fan, I'm instinctively drawn to the premise.

SIGNS: Had me until the end. The baseball bat, the water, the convoluted reason why the Culkin kid didn't die, just broke the flow.

THE VILLAGE: M. Night's known for his twist endings, the thing is most of his early films still hold up despite them (the ending to Signs was stupid but it did work within the logic he was setting up). This film really did not. It undid everything you'd seen two hours previous, and really made you feel like you had wasted your time.

LADY IN THE WATER: I tried to watch this with a friend, and we couldn't get past the first hour. Nothing happened that caught our interest or made us care. It's the kind of movie where you forget you're watching it, then wander off and make a sandwich.

THE HAPPENING: I haven't seen it, but since it's apparently about plants emitting gases that make us kill ourselves, I don't think I'm missing much.

And we were all trying to keep the whole thing spoiler free too.

I liked the Village. After Sixth Sense, the Village was the film I liked second best. Of course, I'd had the ending "spoilt" for me, so I wasn't looking for a twist, just relaxing and enjoying the story.

I think that's the whole point. It's not supposed to be a puzzle - Even the Sixth Sense, I remember thinking about the twist before it was revealed. It was fairly obvious at the time but the film kept going regardless - and that's what sucked you in.

Since you know all about the ending of the happening, you might find that you can relax and watch it without feeling like you have to look for the twist. The first half is very good.

Sixth Sense: Amazingly tense. A classic.

Unbreakable: Apparently M. Night is writing another script
based around this movie. Eh?

Signs: As a fan of alien/UFO movies,
I'm instinictvely drawn to the premise.

The Village: This is where M. Night and most
of M. Night's fans jumped overboard.
Cinematography's great, Joaquin "Mr. Rapper Guy" Phoenix is great,
but everything and all the other acting is CRAP!
M. Night's so-called "twist" ruined everything.

Lady in the Water: This is where most of the hard-core M. Night fans
jumped overboard. I never bothered to see it.

The Happening: Never bothered to see it.

Remember watching SIXTH SENSE back to back, absolutely riveted with the effect as story and how the story was told. Haven't watched it since and probably won't for some years to come.

UNBREAKABLE might be Bruce Willis' best film. This is a movie I can watch over and over, one of the best Comic style stories come to film.

Didn't bother with SIGNS for the longest time. Caught it on TV a few years after it was released and loved it. It's a movie I'll watch if it's on but never put on for fear I'll wear it out.

Loved the VILLAGE. I found the acting at a decent to good level in exception of Adrien Brody, who I've never been moved by and whose ego is far too large for the screen, his talent or his tiny little heart (sorry, pet peeve, just venting). The premise was good and the execution typical of M. Nigh's work.

LADY IN THE WATER was hit and miss. Half was fantastic (completely fell for the lead) and half was trying too hard (M. Nigh's self casting). The part with Paul Giamatti listening to the woman's story on the couch was classic. This movie would be good for a younger audience, I imagine I would have loved it in my pre-teens. Somehow this movie gets equated with Pans Labyrinth in my head, which FAR outshone it.

What is this movie THE HAPPENING? Never heard of it. Zooey Deschanel?! *swoon* Must go watch it now *runs off*

I can't stand the guy's movies. The pacing is all wrong.

Character is walking down the hall.

Character is walking down the hall.

Character is walking down the hall.

*I get up and fix a sandwich. Return to the movie.*

Character is still walking down the hall.

I've only seen two Shyamalan movies. The Sixth Sense is not bad, but hugely overrated. The first half of Signs is likable, but the second half is one of the worst things I've ever sat through. I've really enjoyed reading the dire reviews of his last few movies, & articles about what a delusional egomaniac he is (& find them all very easy to believe). I kinda feel I should watch some more of his movies because I enjoy giving out about him so much that regardless of how certain I am I would hate the Village or the Happening or whatever, it would be nearly worth it for being able to more authoritatively give out about him.

Also, the fuzzily religious background noise in his movies really bugs me - the assumption that everything has a purpose & the entire universe has been deliberately organised for Bruce Willis' or Mel Gibson's benefit.

He's a bit hit and miss and there's perhaps a danger of him being thought of as a one trick pony.

The Happening was awful. I've not seen Lady in the Water or Unbreakable. The Sixth Sense is a very solid piece of work and I didn't really mind The Village. Signs was watchable too.

Watched THE HAPPENING last night. Yeah, not his best film. It's the first time the story got under my skin. The concept was interesting, as usual, but the whole nuclear family bit angered me a great deal. All his films carry an undertone but this felt like it crossed the line. Zooey Dechanel's character was passive to the point of non-existent and all the characters were unsuccessfully charactered. For it to have so many proven actors and all of them fail to deliver a decent performance...

The visuals reminded me of the short films he made as a child. It was nice not to have huge budget effects for a change.

I felt bad for Zooey Deschanel. She's a talented actress and deserved better than being in an M. Night Shyamalan film.

Sixth Sense: impeccable plot. The end twist made perfect sense of all the weird previous scenes. But once watched, it's a movie I can easily forget, and move on with my life.

Unbreakable: I love superheroes. Even more when they're not supernatural at all. The characterization was not clear until Mr. Glass stated it explicitly in his last line, which I think was clumsy screenwriting.

The Village: haven't watched it. Could care less.

Lady in the Water: never elicited my attention.

The Happening: pure, premium-blend, high-octane mediocrity. Only the shots of grass waving in the wind are memorable. The rest of the movie is --literally-- forgettable.

And he's supposed to film Avatar: The Last Airbender, which only has me deeply worried...

Katara would LITERALLY be the Lady in the Water...

I love The Sixth Sense.

I love Unbreakable.

I love Signs.

I love The Village.

I like Lady in the Water.

I love The Happening.

I rewatch any given Shyamalan film at least once a year.

I expected fellow Aspies to be more likely to appreciate his stuff, but evidently that's not the case. Strange.