Cast: Paul Giamatti (Cleveland Heep), Bryce Dallas Howard (The Lady - Story), Jeffrey Wright (Mr. Drury), Cindy Cheung (Young-Soon Choi), M. Night Shyamalan (Vick Ran, author, & director)
For complete info, see IMDb's Lady in the Water page.
I hadn't read the reviews, but I had looked at the ratings in Entertainment Weekly and People and saw the negative title for the CNN review. So, I wasn't expecting much, in spite of Lady in the Water being created by M. Night Shyamalan, who has done some good movies (and one that I'd argue is great).
Perhaps it's because I wasn't expecting much, but I enjoyed Lady in the Water. Sure, it was never truly scary, but I kept expecting it to be, which allowed the sprinklers to get me every time. Fortunately, it was clear the same thing happened to others in the theatre.
The way the bedtime story from long ago that had been told to one of the occupants of The Cove turned out to be real as Cleveland tried to figure out how to save Story was pretty interesting. I'm not sure it's necessary to see this one in a theatre, but it's worth renting.
I think it's easier to enjoy it if you realize that this isn't a typical M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's not truly scary, but it is suspenseful at times and pretty interesting.
I also think that if they'd made it clear that the part about Lady in the Water being a bedtime story by M. Night Shyamalan was true (and not a joke as I thought it was when I saw the first preview that ended by saying it was a bedtime story by M. Night Shyamalan), expectations of the movie would have been more in line with the movie. Realize that it really is a bedtime story (you can even buy it on Amazon), originally written for M. Night Shyamalan's kids and you'll go into the movie expecting the right thing and be able to enjoy it.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2006, Brad Pitt, Bryce Dallas Howard, fantasy, M. Night Shyamalan, movie, mystery, Paul Giamatti, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:45 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard (Ivy Walker), Joaquin Phoenix (Lucius Hunt), Adrien Brody (Noah Percy), William Hurt (Edward Walker), Sigourney Weaver (Alice Hunt)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Village page.
I know The Village got a lot of bad reviews. But, I think that's just because we've come to expect so much from M. Night Shyamalan and his movies. The Village wasn't his best effort, but it was still very entertaining. The cast was wonderful and the story was good. The whole idea of an isolated village believing that their alliance with the neighboring creatures is ending and threatening their way of life is really a good one. How it plays out is interesting - especially when the outside world is entered. I won't spoil that, since unlike most reviews I've read, I think The Village is well worth seeing.
It's not a horror film, per se, which might be the issue most people have with it, since most of M. Night Shyamalan's movies are more horror oriented. I still think it's very entertaining and worth seeing.
Grade: B
Labels: 2004, Brad Pitt, Bryce Dallas Howard, drama, Joaquin Phoenix, M. Night Shyamalan, movie, mystery, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:40 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Mel Gibson (Rev. Graham Hess), Joaquin Phoenix (Merrill Hess), Rory Culkin (Morgin Hess), Abigail Breslin (Bo Hess), Cherry Jones (Officer Paski)
For complete info, see IMDb's Signs page.
M. Night Shyamalan presents another movie worthy of watching on the big screen. He's so good with stories. This story wasn't quite as good as I'd expect from him, but it definitely kept me interested throughout the movie, which says a lot. The cast is amazing and this movie about messages from aliens is a good Sci-Fi mystery/thriller. I definitely recommend renting this one if you missed it. Of course, I'll watch anything M. Night Shyamalan puts on the screen. I think he's wonderful!
Grade: B+
Labels: 2002, Abigail Breslin, drama, Joaquin Phoenix, M. Night Shyamalan, Mel Gibson, movie, mystery, Rory Culkin, sci-fi, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Bruce Willis (David Dunn), Samuel L. Jackson (Elijah Price), Robin Wright Penn (Audrey Dunn)
For complete info, see IMDb's Unbreakable page.
I'll go see anything that M. Night Shyamalan does for the screen - period. This isn't as amazing as The Sixth Sense, but I think most of that is because we now know that M. Night Shyamalan will have a twist. Knowing that makes you think more about all the possibilities as you're watching the movie, which detracts from the work a bit. The idea of one man who can't be killed by normal means and one man who is very frail and suspect to injury discovering each other and the events that follow is great and I can't think of anyone better to present this than M. Night Shyamalan.
I look forward to many more movies by M. Night Shyamalan and recommend Unbreakable.
Grade: B
Labels: 2000, Bruce Willis, comics, drama, fantasy, M. Night Shyamalan, movie, Robin Wright Penn, Samuel L. Jackson, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:10 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Bruce Willis (Dr. Malcolm Crowe), Haley Joel Osment (Cole Sear), Haley Joel Osment (Lynn Sear), Olivia Williams (Anna Crowe)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Sixth Sense page.
M. Night Shyamalan's movie totally blew me away. I grabbed my friend's arm in many parts of the movie and was definitely pretty thrown by the ending. Fortunately, I avoided press about The Sixth Sense and didn't know there was a twist. If I'd known, perhaps I would have been able to figure it out. I'm very glad I didn't. I suppose that this movie will always be my favorite of M. Night Shyamalan's for that reason. It caught me off guard.
The cast of The Sixth Sense is wonderful! They did a great job with this story and I highly recommend the movie.
Grade: A-
Labels: 1999, Bruce Willis, drama, M. Night Shyamalan, movie, mystery, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:40 PM show | 0 screams