Last night I had the pleasure of being able to watch "The Village" thanks to my lucky fingers. As it happened I was the 11th caller when the local radio DJ on Real Radio 104.1FM sounded the cue. I assure you I will not spoil the movie for you by telling you anything that you haven't already figured out from the trailers and interviews. This promises to be very hard to do but the trailers alone make the movie a must-see for any Shyamalan fan. This film rings with reminiscence of "Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" in its plot twists.

"The Village" definitely leaves the movie-goer slightly dumbfounded by the end much the same way as the revelation of Malcolm Crowe as a ghost did. M. Night Shyamalan remains consistent with the basis of his stories throughout the plot of his fourth feature-length film.

This review has turned into more of an pseudo-explanation of Shyamalan's acclaimed style but nonetheless I would urge you to go see this film.

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

Dissapointingly, A coworker saw the film last night and was terribly dissapointed. I am glad to see your recommendation and I guess I will have to see it for myself.

It's looking like it is not getting spectacular reviews... at least the ones I have seen

I'm going to give it a shot. I appreciated Signs when I saw it a second time and paid less attention to expecting a surprise ending, which is probably going to hurt this guy's career more than help it if he keeps this up.

Thanks for the heads up.

This film follows in the same vein...either you will absolutely LOVE it or absolutely HATE it. I've seen mixed reviews, from 3 out of 5 stars to 5 out of 5 stars. CNN.com critic called this film Shyamalan's best yet. The dialogue and underlying methodology are keys to Shyamalan's films. He makes them in such a way that they are very cleverly portrayed and don't get too hokey (ie "Memento"). Hope you enjoy this film as much as I did, but this film will have audiences deeply divided.

You thought Memento was hokey??!! :shock:

[quote=el presidente Highsteppa]You thought Memento was hokey??!! :shock:[/quote]

I understand that my opinion of "Memento" pisses a lot of people off. I felt as though it was a bit of a rip-off of Tarantino style with mediocre acting and writing at best. The only thing "Memento" had going for it was camera work.

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

I find the Tarantino comparison puzzling since really Tarantino is known more for the pop culture banter than anything else. But I guess you're referring to Tarantino's free form time play that he does?

Still, I think of Memento as something of a unique film of its own, as it's a lot more serious, downbeat and not really cut from the same cloth as Tarantino films are. It's handling the situation as a possible tragedy rather than doing something that could have been a one note performance (ie. the Tom Hanks Saturday Night Live Short Term Memory Guy skit), but Guy Ritchie elevated it much higher. But hey, sorry to hear you didn't dig it. :)

I saw this last night as well. skahound you didn't like Memento and you liked this? Wow. The Village was totally hokey crap.

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

[quote=el presidente Highsteppa] but Guy Ritchie elevated it much higher. But hey, sorry to hear you didn't dig it. :)[/quote]

btw...it's Christopher Nolan

Guy Ritchie married Mad Donna and his talent was sucked away.

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

[quote=HoneyBearKelly][quote=el presidente Highsteppa] but Guy Ritchie elevated it much higher. But hey, sorry to hear you didn't dig it. :)[/quote]

btw...it's Christopher Nolan

Guy Ritchie married Mad Donna and his talent was sucked away.[/quote]

Actually I meant Guy Pearce, but thanks for the correction ;). Damn, I always get him and Guy Ritchie confused. :Wacko:

Chris Nolan, I expect big things from with Batman Begins next summer. Following, Memento and the remake of Insomnia has proven that to me.

[quote=HoneyBearKelly]I saw this last night as well. skahound you didn't like Memento and you liked this? Wow. The Village was totally hokey crap.[/quote]

Opinions are like assholes....everybody's got one. The underlying story of courage and dedication and the lengths we as humas will go to in order to protect the ones we love, to me, is not hokey.

^^^ I like this guy. :wink:

i have high hopes for this one. hope its better and more suspenseful than Signs was.

I had a buddy that saw it earlier this evening:

jonr93 (2:18:06 AM): it's a fucking pathetic story jonr93 (2:18:09 AM): I will tell it to you right now jonr93 (2:18:17 AM): I'm planning on ruining it for everyone that intends on seeing it jonr93 (2:21:27 AM): I couldn't fucking believe how bad it was.. the whole time I was hoping for something cool to happen, and it just ended, I was like jesus christ.. where do I get my money back

that sounds about how i rate some movies. not a good sign.

The problem is that Shyamalan used a theme in this movie which will attract a particular type of movie-goer. As the movie progresses certain events transpire which would leave that certain movie-goer a bit upset. I'll admit my feeling throughout the movie went like this: Excited...Pissed Off...Excited...Pissed Off...Excited. I can't really explain this without giving the plot away so you will just have to see it and take my word for it.

For anyone who says they're going to give it away; that's just a dick thing to do. Think about when we all saw "The Sixth Sense" for the first time...the movie would've been a complete waste of time had someone told you that Crowe was really a ghost.

[quote=skahound]the movie would've been a complete waste of time had someone told you that Crowe was really a ghost.[/quote]

Ummm...you mean the fact that he got shot in the first scene didn't give it away? How about when the kid (who was the only person that could see him) said "I see dead people"? I'm sorry if I sound snarky but I just think M. Night is over rated and a poor story teller who believes too much in his own hype.

p.s. I think Nolan's interpretation of Batman will indeed rock!

[quote=HoneyBearKelly] Ummm...you mean the fact that he got shot in the first scene didn't give it away?[/quote]

Sorry, I must not be as perceptive as you. No, it didn't [i]give[/i] it away. I don't remember seeing Crowe go to the hospital, flat-line, or buried, so nothing was [i]given[/i] away...at least not for my feable mind.

[quote] How about when the kid (who was the only person that could see him) said "I see dead people"?[/quote]

Hindsight is 20/20. After the movie was over I realized that no one else saw him. If I remember correctly Cole was witnessing people who were obviously dead and had recognizable wounds (the children, the man hanging in the school, etc.)

[quote] I'm sorry if I sound snarky but I just think M. Night is over rated and a poor story teller who believes too much in his own hype.[/quote]

It's ok, we all come across as assholes sometimes.

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

I saw it today and enjoyed it, alot more then Signs, which I really didn't like. IMO Sixth Sense is still his best film.

Of course not everyone's going to like this, it's impossible to please everyone.

And fuck the critics, they should all be fired. They're all overpaid anyway. I could care less about someone else's opinion before I go see a movie.

i heard it sucked, but still want to see it :P

When I walked out of this film, I didn't really enjoy what I just saw, but at the same time I didn't really dislike it...very weird.

Peace, Steve

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

What a complete waste of fuckin time. I tihnk if i was more blazed than i was I might have actually been scared. The only must see part of that movie is the trailer, dont even waste your time siiting through that shit. It was gassed up way too much. Napoeal Dynamite was better... for a few laughs anyways. Ridiculous and all but a much better picture than the village.

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

[quote=tien]What a complete waste of fuckin time. I tihnk if i was more blazed than i was I might have actually been scared. The only must see part of that movie is the trailer, dont even waste your time siiting through that shit. It was gassed up way too much. Napoeal Dynamite was better... for a few laughs anyways. Ridiculous and all but a much better picture than the village.[/quote]

Again I urge you and I hope I'm not giving anything away here...If you're going to this movie hoping to be scared shitless you're wasting your time. Go in to this movie with an open mind and be prepared for anything...except being scared in a way that all of us are accustomed. Don't get me wrong, this movie has genuinely frightening moments but it is not and I repeat NOT a horror film or scary movie of any type.

^^^ it's pg-13. of course you can not expect it to be a "horror" cult film. I am still going to see it. All his movies have some strange depth to them, and I like that. He has not failed me once and I claim every movie has it's own thing going on. You kinda have to let go, and become the film at times. He is very creative and smart in what he does.

ps ska. you are wrong about "Momento". :wink:

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

:x Yes i saw it late last night as all shows were sold out I Don't Know Why!!!! I was [color=#FF1493]v[/color][color=#FF1493]e[/color][color=#FF1493]r[/color][color=#FF1493]y[/color][color=#FF1493] [/color][color=#FF1493]d[/color][color=#FF1493]i[/color][color=#FF1493]s[/color][color=#FF1493]s[/color][color=#EF1291]a[/color][color=#DF0F8E]p[/color][color=#CF0D8C]o[/color][color=#C00A8A]i[/color][color=#B00887]n[/color][color=#A00585]t[/color][color=#900382]e[/color][color=#800080]d[/color]. it sucked :twisted:

[quote=asdf_admin]^^^ it's pg-13. of course you can not expect it to be a "horror" cult film.[/quote]

Actually there are some horror films that received a rating lower than an "R": "Poltergeist", "Jaws", and more recently "The Ring", just to name a few.

I'll wait till this is on direct tv. Don't want to risk a late fee on this. :lol:

Everyone who I've spoken to said this was so disappointing. There's some really solid movies out right now I wouldn't waste my money on testing this one. Too risky IMO. and bad movies are dangerous. :NotMe:

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

I just saw this movie last night. What a waste of friggin money!!!! The edning is so wack I couldn't tell you how pissed people wer in the theatre.

It seems like since the sixth Sense his movies have gone totally down hill.

If you thought "Unbreakable" was ass wait till you see this movie.

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

[quote]of course you can not expect it to be a "horror" cult film[/quote]

i still stand on that statement. i did not say there are no good scarey movies around the pg-13 level. :Tongue:

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

Saw this last night and I must say that I did enjoy the film. I thought it was better than Signs.

I have to disagree with LV but I thought UNBREAKABLE was his best so far

I saw this movie last night...I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. It wasn't that bad and it had the typical Shyamalan twists. I thought it was ok and I'd watch it again. Like someone said if you go into it with an open mind it's not that disappointing. It's not a movie that's going to scare you to death though.

Re:: Movie Review - "The Village"

[quote=GerryD]Saw this last night and I must say that I did enjoy the film. I thought it was better than Signs.

I have to disagree with LV but I thought UNBREAKABLE was his best so far[/quote]

Gerry you can't honestly tell me me that "Unbreakable" was better than the "Sixth Sense"??

The ending in unbreakbale was just ridiculous.

the end in Unbreakable was rather stupid. i overheard some people in the bar yesterday saying how scary this movie was. they looked like LOTR nerds anyway, so i dont put much stock in their comments. i still want to see this movie. no mattter what you critics say.

[quote=Jibgolly]the end in Unbreakable was rather stupid. i overheard some people in the bar yesterday saying how scary this movie was. they looked like LOTR nerds anyway, so i dont put much stock in their comments. i still want to see this movie. no mattter what you critics say.[/quote]

That movie was about as scary as your mom jib jogging in a 110 degree weather, but besides that we warned you. :wink:

again: PNSMP :lol:

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Jib I know the educational system down south is hurting but Wtf is PNSMP???

its the new LOL. since i hate LOL.

PNSMP/Pissing and Shitting My Pants

you're right about the southern schooling. but at least we have schools down here and dont go straight to dishwashing like your fathers before you, and now proudly, you. dont hold a grudge cuz i'm smarter than you. :EvilFlic:

finally saw it tonight (saturday) it was a bit of a light ending. but a nice twist i actually didnt see coming. i blame that on being very very tired. :? i give it a 8/10 rating. :NotMe:

IMO 'Unbreakable' had a wonderful ending. Shyamalan is a very crafted writer who doesn't follow the tired cliches and patterns when telling his stories. You cannot expect the normal cut-and-dry good guy vs. bad guy when you buy a ticket...he's going to challenge you and I can appreciate that.

so can i. i think this guy is gonna be making quality films for years to come. watching this movie made me want to rent 'Unbreakable' again.