Anybody see the previews for Shyamalan's new movie

[jojo54]

The Happening? http://www.thehappeningmovie.com/

It looks really good to me, but if anyone has inside info to the contrary, do tell.

[Orrex]

1. A good film would be a nice change of pace for him

I kid. Unbreakable was pretty cool. Didn't he direct a few other movies, too?

I mean, aside from Stuart Little, of course!

[jojo54]

2. It seems like he directed several, if not all, of his films.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Night_Shyamalan

[Orrex]

3. That's kind of my point...

Not a big fan, to be honest.

IMO Unbreakable is the only one of his films so far that really stands up to multiple viewings, and here's why:


The Sixth Sense: Once you realize that Bruce is dead (like, ten minutes into the film), the whole movie is nothing but clever stagings of improbable pseudo-interactions. The entirety of the film's power depends on the surprise, which isn't that big of a surprise. Stylish, yes, but not a great film.

Signs: Aside from the utterly unbelievable premise ("Let's invade a world that's 75% covered with that stuff that kills us, and let's not wear enviro-suits!"), this one embraces the ancient Hollywood cliche that any problem can be overcome if you just return to or reaffirm your faith. God forbid that a disillusioned minister actually find his disbelief justified! Also, Mel's dying wife utters a prophecy that amounts to "Hit the monster with your baseball bat!" Thanks, but if I'm getting advice from beyond the grave, I want it to be something other than what I'd do in the first place anyway!

The Village: Stylish again, and kind of neat, bolstered by a strong cast, but once again it suffers from the utter unbelievability of the premise.

Lady in the Water: Haven't seen that one, to be honest.

Night's films are cool in that they feature exotic and mysterious events taking place in the "real" world. But ultimately this fails, because the only way you can accept the premise is by accepting a slew of mundane things that just couldn't happen. When these are unbelievable, the supernatural/bizarre elements become that much harder to swallow, even in the context of the film.

YMMV, of course. He seems like a nice guy, and I congratulate him on his success, but he has a long way to go before he's really worthy of the praise he's gotten.

[phantom power]

4. He's good at atmospheric set-up, but has trouble bringing it home.

I thought Signs would have been a better movie if Gibson's character had remained faithless. It was such a cliched cop-out when he rediscovered his faith.

I think his skill at atmospherics has somehow obscured that he's not actually super talented.

[and-justice-for-all]

5. WOW...

I just watched the trailer and it gave me chills! It looks great. What the hell are the running/hideing from??

At first I thought it was some rapture bullshit, does not appear to be the case after I watched it all.