Pretty. And busy too, which I’m not sure I like; I prefer more elegant posters, although there is something to be said for a picture that forces you to look at it long enough to see all the details. Click on the image for a larger version, and you can find the trailer here.
While I loved The Sixth Sense and Unbreakbale, Shyamalan lost me on Signs, and I was never able to work up enough interest to bother seeing The Village. He’s an incredibly strong visual storyteller; while his filmmaking style is easy to mock (lush lighting, slow pacing, a sense of portentousness in Every. Spoken. Word.), I’ve found that when it works, it’s surprisingly effective.
The danger is that, when it doesn’t work, your whole movie is ruined. Which is my major problem with Signs. As a thriller, it’s brilliant- as he showed in a few key scenes in Sixth Sense, that ponderous intensity Shyamalan is so good at works great when it comes to scaring the crap out of you- but when you start thinking about individual plot elements (hydrophobic aliens, a god who murders innocents in order to pass along easily deducible advice) afterwards, the whole thing falls apart. When I went to watch the movie a second time, I had lost all interest in it. The spooky stuff was still pretty spooky, but the rest it, it just felt like I was being hit over the head over, and over, and over with the director’s point.
Not to mention the whole “twist-ending” issue that comes to mind whenever you mention Shyamalan’s name. It was fun the first couple of times, but ultimately, jerking your audience around in the last five minutes of your movie loses its appeal when people spend the preceeding hour and 55 waiting for it. Plus, a good twist ending is damn hard to write, and the more Shyamalan relies on that same structure, the more difficult it will be to convince an audience that the ride is worth taking.
Lady in the Water could be excellent, though. I love Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard- the titular Lady, a nymph whom Giamatti’s hotel handyman finds in a pool- is sufficiently intriguing looking, and the trailer has a nice feel to it. (Actually, I thought the trailer was sort of clunky, but the teasers were cool enough that I don’t care.) Plus, I’ve read in a few places that this movie won’t have a twist, so I’m planning on seeing it. Fingers crossed.
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus