The Village

[Gabriel]

Im gonna see it its opening night here in Britain.

I already have my tickets!!!

I am such a huge MNS fan and I always go into to his films with openmind. In my mind his best film was Unbreakable. However talking about the signs...

The bit where you first see the alien at the bday party and Joaquins face went... welll it went...

Now thats scary.

[Heineken Skywalker]

IamTheSmitty said:

A BIT misleading? I'm really pissed off at the advertising team behind the trailers/posters.
Don't get me wrong, I liked this movie (and gave it the same score you did), but was very disappointed.

I say, only a bit misleading because none of Shayamalan's movies have been outright horror, so I really didn't expect this one to be either. He just doesn't make those type of movies. His movies so far have been mostly suspenseful and in that way, this one feels like those.
You should've given it a lower score if you were "very disappointed" with it. A "7" is too kind. Unless you mean that you were really "very disappointed" with the advertising, but not so much the film itself?

[ZapRowsdower]

Exactly. The movie itself was not so much "I expected more from it", because no doubt about it, it delivers.

But I expected something else.

Imagine, it's a couple days before the Matrix Reloaded comes out. Someone invites you to a private screening. Regardless of your opinion of the movie now, keep in mind, you haven't seen this movie yet, and are overly excited. You walk into the screening, expecting to see the Matrix Reloaded. However, instead of the Matrix Reloaded, they show you Schindler's List.

Is there anything wrong with Schindler's List? Of course not. It's one of the greatest movies of all time. But wouldn't that still piss you off? Wouldn't it piss you off if you were promised something but given something else? That's why I docked 10 points from the final overall score.

[LivingDeadGirl]

I think I'm gonna go see this tonite... that's the tentative plan anyway. Hope it won't disappoint after all the debating.

[LivingDeadGirl]

Went to see it last night & loved it! I don't think it was as good as his other ones, but I was in no way disappointed. The performances were great, the twists were great, the atmosphere & imagery were great as always, imo another Shyamalon success. I can understand what people mean about the trailers being misleading, but they really couldn't have done otherwise w/out giving anything away I guess.

[Bartwald]

A great movie! The first M. Night's one where I expected the ending to be more or less like it was but still: lots of suspense, fine acting (Ron Howard's daughter ain't a bad actress, eh?), nice use of music, wonderful photography and a very interesting script (so what that it's not totally convincing? Shyamalan can have his right to, uh, allegory too, can't he?).

My Shyamalan-o-meter:

THE SIXTH SENSE - 8/10
UNBREAKABLE - 9/10
SIGNS - 8/10
THE VILLAGE - 8/10

And... in the earlier posts here, Sybillness admitted to loving the director's stuff as much as we all do, so I hope she'll come back to the thread for a short Shyamalan-talk. Sybillness? You still around? You didn't enter the woods, did you?!

[LivingDeadGirl]

That was Ron's daughter?? I didn't even make the connection. That's pretty cool!

[Sybillness]

Ok, Heineken just came upstairs and told me my presence was being requested. Sorry I've been gone guys. I used to log in at work when I wasn't too busy but we've got new blocking software that keeps all the little drones from accessing message boards, shopping sites, entertainment sites, etc. Apparently a few slackers spoiled it for the rest of us. And after sitting at a computer all day at work, I'm not so inclined to log in at home anymore. Besides I've got a house, husband, son and three cats to look after!

SPOILER!! Anyway, I saw THE VILLAGE last week and really enjoyed it! Not as much as 6th SENSE or SIGNS, but the twist ending still got me. At the end when Ivy goes over the wall, Heineken and I just looked at each other and said, "No shit!" We were pleasantly surprised that we hadn't completely guessed the ending and feh! to all those people who say they are pissed because they had figured it out halfway through. Good for you. Don't go see anymore of his movies if you were that disappointed. I'm sure enough fans will recommend his next movie to enough people to make up for your tickets.

I enjoyed the whole look of the film. I liked the "stoic" look of drab colors, helped with the whole 1800's feel. I'm still wondering though why Ivy is the only one who wears anything bright. In a scene in the meeting hall, she has on a royal blue dress and it really stood out. Other villagers had blue on, but it was a muted blue. Why did she get the bright blue and why was it only for a few seconds? I get the whole idea behind red being aggressive so they squash it and reserve it for the creatures and yellow being a neutral but very warm and inviting color so it's for the villagers. Sorry, I like picking stuff out like that so I could go on and on about it.

As for the acting, I loved Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce. I can't imagine it's ever easy to portray someone with no sight, but I bought it.

All in all, I give it a 7/10. I'll get the DVD when it comes out.

[Bartwald]

SPOILERS

Sybillness said:

As for the acting, I loved Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce. I can't imagine it's ever easy to portray someone with no sight, but I bought it.

I bought it, too. But it must be said that both Adrien Brody and Joaquin Phoenix were also extraordinary in their roles! And THE scene of their confrontation - no less than genius!

Good to see you're still with us, Sybillness.

[LivingDeadGirl]

Welcome back Sybill! I missed ya!
Anyway, I agree w/ you Bart about THE scene w/ Adrian Brody & Joaquin Pheonix. That's the one scene that REALLY caught me off guard & made my jaw drop, as it did w/ the rest of the audience who was in the theatre being as there was one big audible gasp when it happened. I don't think I've ever seen Adrian Brody in anything else but his performance in this one I loved! You really didn't wanna like his character after what he did, but you still felt empathy for him through the rest of the movie...at least I did. Joaquin was great as always in his subtle, laid-back way. And Bryce was just awesome. There's been talk on other boards of wanting her to get an Oscar nom for her performance, but don't know if it will happen or not. But I can't wait to see her in other movies soon. This will probably be one that I will buy when it comes out on dvd also.

[Bartwald]

From Horror Web:

Simon & Schuster Inc. is reviewing its legal options against The Walt Disney Co. and writer-director M. Night Shyamalan over what the author of a children's book says are similarities between its plot and the film The Village, a spokeswoman for the publisher said on Monday.

Reports have circulated that its plot and surprise ending parallel Margaret Peterson Haddix's first book Running Out of Time, published in 1995.

Haddix told Reuters that she heard about the similarities last week when fans -- and then journalists -- began calling and e-mailing her and her publisher to ask if she had sold the book to Shyamalan. She said she has never spoken to The Sixth Sense director or to Disney.

"It's certainly an interesting situation," Haddix said. "I'm just examining what my options are."

In a statement, Disney and Shyamalan's Blinding Edge Pictures said they "believe these claims to be meritless."

Shyamalan has battled a copyright lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania screenwriter who claimed the plot from the 2002 film Signs mirrored his unproduced script Lord of the Barrens.

In Running Out of Time and The Village, adults in a bucolic 19th century town keep the same secret from their children, and a plucky tomboy journeys through dangerous woods to get medicine.

Haddix said she optioned the book twice -- once to Viacom Inc.-owned Nickelodeon, which allowed the option to expire in May 2003 without making a film.

She saw The Village last week but declined to discuss her opinion of the film. "Let's just say that I saw the same similarities that other people have pointed out," she said.

Lawyers for Simon & Schuster also were reviewing their legal options, spokeswoman Tracy van Straaten said.

"This is a children's book...that sold more than half a million copies and won prizes, so it's not an obscure book for us," van Straaten said. The book was nominated for an Edgar Award, the nation's top prize for mystery stories.


Looks like the plot of the book really IS quite similar to what happens in The Village, huh?

[LivingDeadGirl]

Yeah, I read about that. It makes ya wonder...

[RobertVannSmith]

I have enjoyed M. Night Shyalaman's movies --- up until now. I went to see the movie expecting it to be something it wasn't and I was majorly let down. The movie turned out to be something quite different.

If you want to know, I was expecting it to be a movie about Sasquatch (or Big Foot, or Yeti, or whatever your culture calls it).

Instead, it turns out to be a movie about a group of people tired of living in a world they no longer like to live in and deciding to live a life similar to the Amish, where the founders of "The Village" are keeping a dark secret from the rest of the dumb m-asses.

What I "thought" was going to be Big Foot is some goofey Forest Gump character running around in a Halloween costume.

Man, what a major disappointment.

Okay, nice try M. Night, but you should have stuck with the alien movies and the ghost movies and left the monster movies to someone else.

[Bartwald]

Maybe he WILL make a decent monster movie in the future? 'Cause - you are right - The Village is just not it. And though myself I still think it's a very good film, the fact that you were lead to expect something else from it could kill all the joy you might have otherwise had from it - just like Smitty argued above (or was it in the Shyamalan thread in Favourite Directors part?).

[Boonielicious]

I would like to live in the village. ;D