Compare this to this. And then Dargis: "A folly, true, but watchable." Now I actually have to see The Lady in the Water.
Oh well, I was already somewhat resigned to a lifetime of mid-summer frustration directed at M. Knight and failed potential.
Perhaps Monster House as the antidote?
I don’t know, I couldn’t sit in a theater and hear characters talk seriously about a narf and not crack up laughing.
I hear you, although it has a kind of Alice in Wonderland rip-off vibe to it.
I, too, am all but resigned to seeing the film now. Even if the bad reviews are on target — and I have a sinking suspicion they are — it still might be worth watching. Of course, I may be the one person in the universe who actually sort of liked “The Village,” so your mileage may vary.
I liked The Village too, and thought Unbreakable was great, though he lost me on Signs. Mel Gibson plus messages about faith makes me nervous.
I don’t really want to see Lady in the Water. The trailer threw me off; I felt like all that portentous atmosphere was herding us to some heavy-handed conclusion, and I had to break free just to get my own brain back. That’s probably not at all an accurate take on the movie or a fair way to judge whether I’d like it, but I’m left with a strong urge not to watch it.
Unbreakable is hands-down Shyamalan’s best film so far. I don’t think he’s had an out-and-out stinker yet, either, although most of the others have at least one pretty big flaw. I’m inclined to see it on the grounds that even Shyamalan’s failures are likely to be interesting.
I also want to see this.
Apparently there’s a new book out about Shyamalan and his split with Disney. Article here.
Janet Maslin reviewed it (unfavorably) here:
http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/07/10/books/10masl.html
I would highly recommend Monster House.
Squish any of the Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg movies from the 80’s (Goonies, BTTF, Poltergiest, ET) into a CGI Flick and it is well worth seeing.