M. Night Shyamalan (The Happening)

[TheMarvell]

Even though I would have rather have gone to see Hulk last night, I ended up going on a double date to The Happening instead. Being a huge M. Night fan myself, I wanted to see this movie eventually anyways, but, well, lets just say that Hulk would have most definitely been better.

Out of all his well-known movies starting with the Sixth Sense, the only one that I thought sucked was Lady in the Water, until now. Sixth Sense is a perfect 10 movie, easily his best work, while Unbreakable is one of my favorite movies of all time. I liked Signs and The Village as well, but not as much as Sense and Unbreakable. The more I see Signs, the more the plot holes with the aliens bothers me, while The Village was disappointing at first, actually grew on me after 2nd and 3rd viewings.

Lady in the Water was just completely out of left field. Great actors in an incredibly stupid story, and M. Night showing how big his ego has gotten from his fame. It just wasn't a good movie.

but his latest now is The Happening, which is arguably on par, even sometimes worse than Lady, and that KILLS me to say, as I thought the director had learned from his mistakes. But this movie is bad because of opposite reasons to Lady. Happening has a GREAT premise, but with horrible acting and execution. SO much so, that I'm shocked this is one of his movies. Even though Lady tanked, you could tell this was an M Night film. I never got that feeling with Happening. I like Mark Whalberg, but he can only do so much with a poor script. The dialog is actually abysmal in this film. And the leading lady (Zooey something-rather) is a terrible actress. The only other movie I remember her being in was Elf. Night tries to make the audience care about Whalberg and Zooey's characters relationship, but he doesn't do anything with it to make it so. This director is loved by many BECAUSE of the time he takes to invest in his characters, but here he does the opposite. Is it his fault, or the studios, though, I'm not sure, but the movie is terrible all the same.  :thumbdown:

M. Night Shyamalan...what happened?? Because of how good Sixth Sense and Unbreakable are, I considered him to be one of the greatest directors of this generation. But even as a huge, huge fan of his past work, I can't, in the slightest, defend The Happening or Lady in the Water. I can give Lady some credit though. The scene where Paul Giamatti gets emotional over the past death of his family is alone better than anything in The Happening. If one scene in an other-wise crappy movie is better than another movie, that's not good work.

The man used to be such a great auteur, but now he's just become a punching bag for critics. :(

[zuludelta]

Haven't seen The Happening yet (man, everytime I hear the title, I think of Cheech Marin in Born in East LA saying "Wassappenin'?") but I think I'll pass on this one.

Of his work, I only really like Sixth Sense but it doesn't stand up to repeated viewings (once you know the twist, it sort of deflates the film in subsequent viewings). Unbreakable was okay too, but could have stood to lose about a half-hour in its running time. Signs, I found to be a horribly plotted film, the whole story serving as the canvas for Shyamalan's effective (but by then a little rote and predictable) scene set-ups and his amateur-hour version of metaphysics and new age mumbo-jumbo. The Village was more of the same, although he actually tried to work in a social/political metaphor in this one (heavy-handed as that metaphor might be).

Of course, Lady In The Water was just horrible... a self-indulgent cinematic turd in the Hollywood toilet. I really wanted to like it, too... I thought he was trying to do something different at first, maybe trying to do a post-modern bedtime story/fairy tale, but about two-thirds of the way through the movie I realized that all he was saying was that he is an artist and storyteller of great import, whose inspiration comes from some magical and mystical place, and everybody else who disagrees should take a flying leap. And lord, that dialogue was just terrible.

In summary, M. Night Shyamalan = excellent cinematographer, good director, horrible horrible writer. 

[Spam]

Man, and I really wanted to see this movie, too. It looked terrific in trailers and previews, but now... I don't know. I might have to look it up online, see if there's any sort of false hope, or something.

I liked the Sixth Sense a lot. Maybe I would have liked it even more if I wouldn't have spoiled it for myself. I think I wiki'd it or something, but I still managed to enjoy it. Then I saw Unbreakable, and I had mixed reactions about it. But I think I ended up liking it in the end. I might have to view it a second time though, just to make sure.  :P

I watched Signs when I was a kid, around the age of 14, so I must admit that I was scared of the aliens. I mean, who wouldn't be scared of the idea of aliens invading your home, and making your kid weez? So, it wasn't really until I grew up and actually watched the movie that I started to like it. And it has Mel Gibson in it, so it's good. :)

The Village, once again, another movie I watched when I was younger. I liked it, but it did make me jump a few times. But for some reason the ending really grinded my gears, where [spoiler]it turns out they were living in an amish community, or something. I seriously thought this movie was supposed to be set in medieval times, so when the lady went to get medicine I thought she was going to another village... but nope, a cop helps her out. Guh, for some reason that just nudged me wrong. Maybe I missed a point in the movie where they were talking about actually living in a community, I don't know... And also, I was sorta disappointed that the monster wasn't actually a monster. It was just a crazy person... psh, go figure.[/spoiler]...

Lady in the Water has one of my favorite actors in it, Paul Giamatti. He's a fantastic actor, if you haven't seen Sideways, you haven't seen movies. That movie is just great, I love that movie. But anyways, I thought I would really like Lady in the Water, at least until I started watching it, and started to realize the plot... there really was a lady in the water. That was pretty much it. Seeing Paul Giamatti stutter through the movie impressed me with what he could do as an actor, but the ridiculousness of the movie really didn't win me over, at least story wise.

I still think M. Night Shyamalan has some really good ideas, it's just his movies recently have been disappointing. But I don't know if he's trying to make horror movies now, or if he's trying to hang on to thrilling people. I don't know what he wants to do, because there is a difference between the two. Or maybe he's just trying to tell a story, sorta like in Lady, but it just didn't work out. It seemed more ridiculous, and unrealistic then anything else. Or maybe everyone's just comparing his work now to Sixth Sense. Maybe he is a one-hit-wonder director, who knows. These are totally my opinions on him, but I think he still has at least one more chance to make another movie before he flops. If his next movie isn't spectacular, then I think he's done. Just one more movie director, gone with the ages.

[GogglesPizanno]

The man used to be such a great auteur, but now he's just become a punching bag for critics.

Hey Ive been using him as a punching bag since the end of Unbreakable.  :P

He is one of those directors in that I think his parts are usually better than his sum.

The first 1/3 of his movies often have promise and there is usually one big scene that is extremely well executed and gets me into it, but by the second half they all tend to start falling apart and his endings... trick or otherwise are truly capable of destroying any good will that hes acquired (Signs, I'm looking at you).

Even the Sixth Sense is a one time movie for me... once you've seen it with the twist, it just doesn't hold up. And for all the love that Unbreakable gets in comic circles, I always saw it as a pretty decent first 45 minutes of a better film that he stretched out to 2 1/2 hours... yes I know it was supposed to be the first of a trilogy, but unless you have the deal in ink to make all 3, unbreakable was just an example of an excessive first act and hint of a second, but with with no third act or resolution. Thats just sloppy ego driven film making.

As a result Ive been less and less interested in his films... The VIllage and Lady in the Water... uh yeah, I wont even bring those up. I probably will catch the Happening when i can get it via netflix, but definately not a theater experience especially with what people have been saying about it.

[TheMarvell]

What I like most about his first two movies is that they aren't solely about the extraordinary going on around the characters or the twist. They're more about the characters discovering themselves and discovering a part of them that they didn't even realize. I had mixed opinions about Unbreakable when I first saw it, but once it grew on me, it grew exponentially. It's really one of my favorite movies of all time, not even because it's about superheros, but because of how well executed and in depth the character development is. I'll admit, it's not for everyone, and the movie moves at a snails pace, but for those that get into it deep, it's actually a very well crafted film. Same with Sixth Sense, though a lot of people feel the movie revolves around its twist. I, personally, don't think so. The twist ties up everything that built up to it, but everything that builds up to it, isn't reliant on it either. It has very deep characters that are well written, but a lot of people just shrug that off because of how big the impact is of the twist.

I still think he's a wonderful director with great ideas, but I'm just in shock that someone who could make such great movies also make such stinkers. Say what you will about The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village, whether you love them or hate them, there is absolutely no way anyone could find Lady in the Water or The Happening better films than his first four. They're almost polar opposites...

Apparently his next movie(s) is actually an adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the trilogy.

[GogglesPizanno]

Heres hoping he signs for either all 3, or remembers to include an actual ending (one that isn't stupid and/or contrived would be a plus, yes, Im looking at you again Signs -- and everything after)

[Previsionary]

Just imagine how odd his directing will be in a movie based on an 'anime' that is fairly logical, linear, and without SHOCKING TWISTS! Yes, I am talking about Avatar: the last airbender.

[stumpy]

I liked Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. I mean "the twist" is cool for first time viewing, but I think the movies hold up either way because they are about characters discovering themselves and Shyamalan is a good storyteller.

Even Signs is pretty good, though I think it is dismissed because the mechanics of the aliens is weak. And, that would be a bigger deal if it were a movie about alien invaders. But, it's not a movie about alien invaders any more than Cloverfield is a movie about giant monsters.

Then we get to The Village and I was somewhat disappointed. For one thing, the twist was way too obvious. I figured it in the first fifteen minutes of the movie and was disappointed that he dragged it out 'til nearly the end. But, the real problem was that I never really cared about the characters. And, I don't mean that they weren't likable or "relatable" or any of that nonsense. I don't need any of that (and often prefer not to have it). I just mean they didn't really hold my interest. The "people in authority hype marginal/artificial threats to generate fear and maintain the social order" theme wasn't very compelling. Not because I necessarily disagree, but so what? Does anyone not already know that? Since the movie doesn't try to figure out what to do about it, I don't really see the point of bringing it up.

I will skip Lady in the Water, though I agree it was a major disappointment.

I was tempted to see The Happening yesterday after glancing at Ebert's review. I like Wahlberg and generally think Shyamalan produces a watchable movie, even if I don't end up liking it. Now I am not so sure.

This makes for two movies (the other being the last Indiana Jones flick) so far this season that I was looking forward to that I probably may not even see, at least on the big screen.

[bredon7777]

I'm sorry, but..MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

[spoiler]
I just cannot take "OH NOES! IT IS TEH PLANTS!" seriously. At all.  I think I'dve died laughing had I gone to see the movie and been unspoiled.

As it is, it may be worth a rental (most things, no matter how wretched, generally are) but not paying for this in the theater.
[/spoiler]

Someone get this guy to finish the Unbreakable trilogy he had planned, and then he can go away.

[Jakew]

I didn't think The Happening was a terrible movie. Average, yes. But better than The Village and Lady In The Water (I thought those were both seriously flawed to the point of being unenjoyable).

I think M Night is getting unfairly bashed by critics in the major US papers and on the internet at the moment over this film ... even The Village had better reviews.

[TheMarvell]

The Village had better reviews because it was a better movie. I know that's just an opinion, but I don't recall ever a time where I cringed at the dialog in Village. It was just a much better crafted film than Happening, even if the story itself wasn't great or original.

and as much as I LOVE Unbreakable, I think it's best as a single movie, especially at the downward spiral Shyamalan's career is taking. The last thing I'd want is to see him royally screw up one of his best movies by making a bad sequel.

and Stumpy, I'm in the same boat as you in regards to this summers movie season so far. The only good movie I've seen is Iron Man, and I only enjoyed Speed Racer because of the nostalgia (in no way can I actually recommend that film to anyone but old SR fans). Happening and Indiana Jones 4 were two of the biggest disappointing movies I've seen in a LONG time...

[MJB]

Meh, I have heard from two friends that this movie sucks.

That's all I need to know. :P

-MJB