I'm pretty much straight down the line in my M Night fanboyness w/ you Jared, except that I actually liked The Village. However, TLITW will be entrenched in my "bottom 10 all-time" indefinitely.

I'm reading some "bad, bad stuff man" about The Happening......most scary review line I've read - "makes TLITW engrossing by comparison" - yikes and double-yikes!!! I skipped TLITW till video based on the bad press - one of my better all-time decisions.......at this point, I'm betting against The Happening ever even hitting my Netflix queue.

Oddly M Knight and Frank Durabont have something in common with me - they both have movies in my top 5 all-time - "Unbreakable" and "Shawshank" and my bottom 10 all-time "The Mist" and "TLITW".

M Night could use a hit, but it doesn't appear likely......I'd like to see him revisit the "Unbreakable" storyline - that could be a nice trilogy........it also is one of my favorite soundtracks.

Lady in the Water Rocked!

Guess I'm the only person around here who appreciates redemption *sniff*



I won't be seeing The Happening. I've always hated R-rated horror flicks, so my sense is I'd probably hate it.

I've heard it blow chunks, too.

Redemption in TLITW?.......rats, I missed it. I was zonked in the first 20 minutes and never recovered......I'm generally pro-redemption, when I'm not lulled into a comatose state before the protagonist finally gets around to being redeemed.

nhe, redemption comes when the credits roll. I was a big fan of that moment.

Jared......seen "Lars and Real Girl Yet"? The premise doesn't do it justice.......would like to hear your take.

Nope, haven't seen it. I'm not opposed, but I gotta be honest in that it's not high on my priority list to see.

Roger Ebert gave "Happening" 3 stars. He gave "Hulk" 2.5 and liked Ang Lee's film better.

"I was zonked in the first 20 minutes and never recovered...."

What, not enough car-chase scenes at the start?

:-)

Hey, You forgot to mention "Signs", which was, I think, his best.
Spit on LITW and The Village. The latter was an insult to blind people everywhere, suggesting that they could walk to town like that. I'm glad they aren't able to see the movie and we were subjected.

Michele, I mentioned "Signs" in my second sentence.

I liked it a lot.

After reading this post all that I can think is that Jared has a bit of anger to deal with, perhaps a nap or watching some Doctor Phil? Oh I know the It’s All Good Preacher. ;-}

After reading this post all that I can think is that Jared has a bit of anger to deal with, perhaps a nap or watching some Doctor Phil? Oh I know the It’s All Good Preacher. ;-}

Bill - you're talking to someone who bought the Jane Austen box set - I don't need no stinking car chases!.......however, pace that actually advances the story slightly forward is a plus.........that's what was missing in The Lady in the Water........Jared, if you can get past the weird premise of Lars and Real Girl, it really is one of those amazing little indy films......one of the more unique takes on Christian Community I've seen.

I admit that all the LITW-hating, ever since it came out, has done nothing but confuse me. I thought the story snapped along pretty well, actually.

My only complaint was that I don't think M Night should have cast himself in such an important role

But to each his own. I'll never understand why everyone hated it. But there are plenty of movies that everyone else goes crazy over that I despised.

I liked Lady In The Water.

1. Signs
2. The Village
3. Sixth Sense
4. Lady
5. Unbreakable

I like all the movies he's made, and even though Unbreakable is bottom on my list, I still like it.

For some reason, M. Night fell from grace with movie pundits. Even if he makes a masterpiece again (like Signs for me), I doubt he'll get any good press ever again.

Bird, I agree. The wunderkind fell from grace pretty quickly after Sixth Sense.

I want to see this one, but I'll wait for the DVD - we're picky about go-to-the-theater movies anymore since we have to schedule a babysitter for the event. We're saving all of our summer movies for the high action/effects movies.

i went and saw it yesterday with two of my kids and two of their friends just because they wanted me along. i was braced for a real stinker based on the reviews and rating on rotten tomatoes (and i found LITW a total disappointment). well i actually enjoyed it. not great, but decent. it got a little too graphic but still showed restraint, and it held my attention right to the end. i think it helps to lower your expectations (and it also matters who you're with).

I haven't seen The Happening (and probably won't til DVD). I enjoyed Signs, 6th Sense, Unbreakable, and even The Village. I haven't seen Lady. Maybe I should do a double feature of Lady/Happening when the DVD does drop.

Hulk was awesome! I also enjoyed Lee's take. This one gives the TV series some love and it feels like a hybrid of the TV series/Comic.

Not that anyone asked, but here's my opinion:

sixth sense - LOVED it.
Unbreakable - REALLY Liked it.
Signs - LOVED it.
The Village - Liked it.
Lady in the Water - Didn't Like it. (There were some things I liked ABOUT it, but I just couldn't get into it. Since I knew it was based on bedtime stories Night told his own kids, I kept thinking, "What kind of scary-@$$ stories does he tell his kids?"

Like Bill, I don't see R rated horror movies either, so I'll have to miss the Happening. I'm dissapointed though. Because I think that Shymalan is a genius. Yes, I still think that.

Has anyone out there seen his ACTUAL first movie, before the Sixth Sense, the one about a kid in Catholic school, I think co-starring Rosie O'Donnell?

Bill, I'm with you...I love the (unintended) parallels to Christ's orchestration of events in Lady.
I love all of Jesus' films...wait, was someone saying that Shyamalan isn't Jesus? I'm confused...
I've loved or like in one degree or another all of his films.

I went into The Happening not knowing anything about it. And was quite sick by the end...I mean, gross. Was not expecting that. Interesting story. I'm trying to not give anything away. a little weak in the science department.

Thanks Lauren! It's nice to get support from one who sees, as do I, the goodness in LITW.

any time, brotha. It's only the power of the Spirit that has revealed these things to us...or something.

A coworker just told me that he wasted his money on The Happening. He has seen many movies over the years, and he liked 6th Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village. LITW wasn't good, he said, but The Happening was stupid. He said it was unintentionally funny in spots and the concept didn't hold up. While he watched, he hoped M. Night would pull it out in the end, but he said it didn't happen.

I really liked all of his movies until this one. It was gruesomely violent and too preachy; the closing scene where they explain everything made me groan out loud. It was surprisingly in-your-face for an M Night movie. Yuck.

I really liked all of his movies until this one. It was gruesomely violent and too preachy; the closing scene where they explain everything made me groan out loud. It was surprisingly in-your-face for an M Night movie. Yuck.

"turdburgers" "stab you in the gullet with a garden spade" .... lot of charming, colorful imagery in this post, J :) I have to go throw up now....