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So I'm relaxing (sobering up) on a fine Sunday morning when what do I see on UPN (latterly CW)? this movie. I wasn't interested in it for the first few minutes, and then I saw Shyamalan's name come up on the credits as writer and director. Like any self-respecting movie connoisseur I grabbed the remote intending to change the channel to any other paid advertisement that would have been more worth my time.<br /><br />Maybe it was laziness, maybe part of me was interested, maybe I felt bad about considering Shyamalan a hack after only watching and not enjoying one and a half movies of his (Sixth Sense and the end of the Village), but I watched it and it was great. Humor? Strong dialogue? Emotion? Utter lack of pseudo-intellectuality? This doesn't sound like Shyamalan!? What the (exp. del.) happened to this guy? M. Night Shyamala tackled a simple and realistic story and it worked, no ghosts, no superheroes, no aliens, no giant porcupines, and no water-nymphs, just a boy going through what boys go through, pure existential crisis (or in another word, "puberty") Of course it's also his lowest-rated movie on IMDb (not counting "Praying with Anger") which shows you something about the modern world.<br /><br />So, my world was turned on its head. My brother always said "every good director will make a bad movie, and every once in a while a bad director might make a good movie" but I never expected something halfway this decent to come from Shyamalan. My new open mind concerning Shyamalan was soon re-shut when I read about his dissatisfaction with the movie and his lack of total freedom with the project. "Whew, what a relief. I was starting to think you weren't some story-driven, twist-crazed, formulaic egotist and were rather a guy who has trapped himself in his own image. Good to know I can still hate you. Oh, and liking the color red (symbolizing death in this movie, too, don't you know?) doesn't make you a genius or an artist, but making a movie (like this) that doesn't rely on plot twists to sustain the audience's attention, is a step in the right direction." For every one interested in a good cry, this movie takes some low-blows to get you there, but I'll be darned if they don't do the trick. |