The Village....

[chillzatl]

words cannot yet describe what a horrible movie this was....once i've had a few days to gather my thoughts, I may be able go into more detail.....

Needless to say, it is a movie worthy of scores of rioting moviegoers demanding their money back...

[Admin]

Has Shamalan come up with another blockbuster stinker that bombs at the theaters? I havent seen it and am reluctant to pay to see his movies after Unbreakable......but I was hoping that Signs was a good sign (pardon the pun) that Unbreakable was just a fluke.

Anyone else seen the Village yet?

[chillzatl]

I thought it was near perfect. The last 10 minutes were a bit off. But otherwise a very good movie.

The village on the other hand....it was just bad. The story had the potential to be good. But he just didn't make it happen. The acting is really the only thing to talk about in the movie. All the actors did a great job with what they were giving. They just weren't giving much to work with.

My brain is still floundering at the thought of it. I can't give much more detail than that, yet.

M.Night needs to stop trying to write, produce and direct all his own stuff. He needs to let someone else do the writing and co-write it with him. something...

[Wretch]

Was that they were never into the 'underlying theme' (for lack of a better way of explaining without spoiling). Not to say that everyone who's into that kind of thing should have just automatically liked it, just that they should have been able to appreciate it more.

Prime example... My brother and I were blown away by it. It totally made sense and we thought it was an AMAZING twist and a cool use of the metaphor; yet when my mom watched Unbreakable it went right over her head. I have to think that many of the people that watched the movie just didn't connect with it's theme.

The Village...?

I'm not an anal film critic looking for a subtitled, foriegn, yarn perfectly spun together that rides on groundbreaking performances by elite thespians; but, I wouldn't say it was an absolute bomb. The movie was quite interesting and deliciously creepy at the outset. The characters were compelling and it all fit together...the movie just begain to unravel towards the end and then plodded to a complete thud. Once you understand what's going on, it's not an enlightening expeirence backtracking through the movie...it's just a let down.

Sometime before the climax, I had figured out what the deal was. I was hoping for more to it than that and found myself eagerly awaiting the end. Overall, I'd say it's actually good for a Blockbuster night but lower your expectations.

[chillzatl]

the big twist at the end of unbreakable was awesome. The whole "realistic" superhero thing was amazing. I just didn't like how it the villain was revealed. seemed forced, considering how easily the rest of the movie paced itself.

THE VILLAGE : SPOILER WARNING - do not read if you don't want to ruin the movie

I'm still struggling, trying to find good things to say about The Village. M.Night is a great visual story teller. That part of his movies has gotten progressively better.

But the story, to me, was just flat. I never once believed the that the "creatures" were real. I also knew from the get go that the big "twist" would be that they were actually living in modern times. Don't know why, but I just guessed it. So it wasn't like "OMG" to me. Obvoiusly I wasn't teh only one either. Because nearly everyone I heard talking about it on the way out were saying negative things, to one degree or another. I heard the word BOGUS more than I have anywhere else in years.

The acting was very good though. Phoenix and Ron howards daughter, bryce, were great. I thought Adreian brody was good too, if under used. He had a very smeagol-ish vibe going and the characters role helped i'm sure.

personally, I think M.Night needs to do a movie with someone elses script. He's a great story teller. But if you try to control too much, you end up making George Lucas films. Pictures so full of yourself that you can't see the mistakes for what they are. His ego needs a let down. which I think he will get with this film. Did you happen to notice that the font they used for "Written, produced and Directed By - M.Night Shyamalan" was 2x the size of everyone elses? give me a break...

[Blunt91]

I agree Chillz I watched that movie yesterday and thought this is the worst movie of the year that I have seen. Just Stupid stupid stupid. It is a far cry from Signs. It would have been a better movie if they found out the monsters were for real and not made up.

[Chicken_Hawk]

I thought it was just OK. After 6th Sense, it seems like M. Night is just trying to come up with one crazy surprise after another and it's not working. Of course, it could be that everyone is looking for the surprise from the beginning and it's just easier to figure out that way.

That's the way it was for me in The Village, I kept thinking of what would be "shocking" at the end of the movie.

[Nicholasp27]

i liked village for what it was, but the problem with it from a 6th-sense expectations point of view is that

a) the twist was too predictable

b) even if u didn't predict it, it doesn't come as an awakening when it tells u, like in 6th sense

c) nothing to go back and watch again to see the indicators of the twist

the great thing about 6th sense was the interactions (or so we thought) between bruce and the living people...it was well done and pretty seamless...so that made it more of a jolt and also made u wanna rewatch the movie to see those

village was still interesting and he's a good storyteller...but it's not the amazing twist great subtle interactions that he's known for