Post by dash on Jul 15, 2005 19:11:38 GMT -5
okay, i'm mixed on m. night's films anymore. at first i loathed them. THE SIXTH SENSE was worse than root canal for me, and after i saw THE VILLIAGE i *almost* stopped liking joaquin pheonix for taking on antoher one of his projects. pretty much the only reason i seem to like m. night's work anymore is because:
1) he shares my day of birth, so i feel kismetly obligated,
and
2) he is smart enough to use joaquin pheonix in his films, which makes my eyeballs happy.
personally, i don't find the 2 aforementioned reasons very good ones in terms of liking/dislking a director's body of work. so, i'm going to think out loud for a moment, and hope that some of the rest of you will as well, thus helping me decide if i really want to go see LADY IN THE WATER or LIFE OF PI next year.
okay, well, let's start with THE SIXTH SENSE. interesting plot in theory, but i'm tired of "twist" endings. personally, i can't stomach bruce willis or haley joel osment, so my interest in the film was defeated from teh get-go. the only reason i wanted to watch it was b/c one of my favourite actresses, toni collette (MURIEL'S WEDDING), was in it as well. i found the dialouge trite and preachy, and quite predictable.
SIGNS: again, the main reason why i actually paid good hard earned money to see thsi film was because mr. phoenix was in it. i adore him. he makes my toes tap. but also, i had yet another "obligation" to see it b/c it was filmed in my town. this also ended up being the reason i hated it and couldn't get into the plot: they portrayed my town as some quaint lil' country bumpkin side show attraction. that irked me while watching. and, needless to say, the ending ticked me off on an epic scale. well... actually, that's not quite accurate, because in order to "call" it an ending, there would have to be some elements *of* said ending to begin with. ie.: a presence of logic and closure, none of which were manifested through mel's inability to make me care what the hell he did with his character's life. i also need not mention that whole "water" plot hole. *sigh* that was just... just... insulting on an epic scale. oh-- speaking of such, let's talk about UNBREAKABLE next....
so... UNBREAKABLE.... yeah. IT SUCKED. ARGH! no more bruce willis! ARGH! sam jackson was kewl, and i do admit i liked the fact it was a superhero story sans the tights and insignias, however taht whole... WATER thing... AGAIN... ugh. did m. night shyamalan like... drink a bad glass or water as a child and was forever emotioanlly scarred from it? werid plot fixation. well... at least he isn't hung up on something even more inane, like... PURE OXYGEN.
and lastly, i'll just comment on THE VILLIAGE since, well, i don't care to see WIDE AWAKE or PRAYING WITH ANGER.
so THE VILLIAGE appeared decent when i saw the trailers/previews. i was actually quite anticpating its arrival. but then, after the first 15 minutes, i knew it was going to be another crap-fest. and my dear sweet jebus was it. not only was it so incredibly unbelievable in terms of plot, it was way too long. oh? did i mention i wanted to punch adrien bordy in the face? just one good SMACK. that's all i'm asking. why? because his diet coke commericals were more interesting than the half-arsed job he did as noah. perhaps i'm just thinking too much into it, but i swear his protrayal as a mentally challenged individual was bordering on forcefully comical/inside joke. again. SMACK.
okay... so those weren't meant to be reviews, obviously-- just little bits and pieces of what's going through my mind right on on m. night shyamalan and his most notable flicks. anyone else care to bash or beautify his work?
i'm waiting....
1) he shares my day of birth, so i feel kismetly obligated,
and
2) he is smart enough to use joaquin pheonix in his films, which makes my eyeballs happy.
personally, i don't find the 2 aforementioned reasons very good ones in terms of liking/dislking a director's body of work. so, i'm going to think out loud for a moment, and hope that some of the rest of you will as well, thus helping me decide if i really want to go see LADY IN THE WATER or LIFE OF PI next year.
okay, well, let's start with THE SIXTH SENSE. interesting plot in theory, but i'm tired of "twist" endings. personally, i can't stomach bruce willis or haley joel osment, so my interest in the film was defeated from teh get-go. the only reason i wanted to watch it was b/c one of my favourite actresses, toni collette (MURIEL'S WEDDING), was in it as well. i found the dialouge trite and preachy, and quite predictable.
SIGNS: again, the main reason why i actually paid good hard earned money to see thsi film was because mr. phoenix was in it. i adore him. he makes my toes tap. but also, i had yet another "obligation" to see it b/c it was filmed in my town. this also ended up being the reason i hated it and couldn't get into the plot: they portrayed my town as some quaint lil' country bumpkin side show attraction. that irked me while watching. and, needless to say, the ending ticked me off on an epic scale. well... actually, that's not quite accurate, because in order to "call" it an ending, there would have to be some elements *of* said ending to begin with. ie.: a presence of logic and closure, none of which were manifested through mel's inability to make me care what the hell he did with his character's life. i also need not mention that whole "water" plot hole. *sigh* that was just... just... insulting on an epic scale. oh-- speaking of such, let's talk about UNBREAKABLE next....
so... UNBREAKABLE.... yeah. IT SUCKED. ARGH! no more bruce willis! ARGH! sam jackson was kewl, and i do admit i liked the fact it was a superhero story sans the tights and insignias, however taht whole... WATER thing... AGAIN... ugh. did m. night shyamalan like... drink a bad glass or water as a child and was forever emotioanlly scarred from it? werid plot fixation. well... at least he isn't hung up on something even more inane, like... PURE OXYGEN.
and lastly, i'll just comment on THE VILLIAGE since, well, i don't care to see WIDE AWAKE or PRAYING WITH ANGER.
so THE VILLIAGE appeared decent when i saw the trailers/previews. i was actually quite anticpating its arrival. but then, after the first 15 minutes, i knew it was going to be another crap-fest. and my dear sweet jebus was it. not only was it so incredibly unbelievable in terms of plot, it was way too long. oh? did i mention i wanted to punch adrien bordy in the face? just one good SMACK. that's all i'm asking. why? because his diet coke commericals were more interesting than the half-arsed job he did as noah. perhaps i'm just thinking too much into it, but i swear his protrayal as a mentally challenged individual was bordering on forcefully comical/inside joke. again. SMACK.
okay... so those weren't meant to be reviews, obviously-- just little bits and pieces of what's going through my mind right on on m. night shyamalan and his most notable flicks. anyone else care to bash or beautify his work?
i'm waiting....