M. Night Shyamalan

[jaykays hat]

One hit wonder or not?

Having just read reviews of his latest film 'The Last Airbender' that has had some really bad comments, some even comparing it to Battlefield Earth in terms of turkeyness, I got to thinking that I loved 'The Sixth Sense' and thought it was brilliant and really had high hopes for this new director at the time but everything he has done since that film has been pretty poor.

So I pose the question is he just a one hit wonder that gets work because of the greatness of his first film or is there really something special about him?

[MrSilly]

Defintiely not a one-hit wonder. I don't know how anyone could think that.

I mean, Unbreakable was terrific.

[rickyroma316]

Yeah, he's pretty much a one-hit wonder. The Sixth Sense was good, Unbreakable was okay until the poorly executed twist at the end, Signs was dire, The Village was ridiculous and The Happening was plain embarrassing. Still haven't seen Lady in the Water but I certainly don't have high hopes for it.

[jaykays hat]

Lady in the water is the only one I haven't seen too ricky, after reading the reviews I gave it a miss.

[Kiba.]

Yes it's a shame because he probably has some talent. But as soon as he became known as "the director whose films have a ~twist~ at the end" his ability to surprise became limited. As a director, the ability to surprise your viewers and reinvent your style is important.

[Porkchopexpress]

I'm actually a fan of Shyamalan's work for the most part, especially James Newton howard's scores.

'The Sixth Sense' I acan watch, I don't find it remotely scary, it's essentially 'Ghost' with Haley joel Osment, but in a good way, I find it very tender and affecting that way, as a suspense, horror, it's a bit of a dud.

'Unbreakable' however is a treasure, beautifully played throughout and some of the scenes, such as the ER scene where Wilis wakes for the first time and the foreground shot of the bleeding passenger is quality, likewise Willis's heroic moments, his emergence from the pool, are quite masterful.

'Signs' I actually saw blind at the cinema, saw it with a group of friends, thought it was going to be crop circle bullshit akin to 'Fire in the Sky', but genuinely loved it, the way the whole patchwerk stictched together heading towards that final confrontation, was elegantly done and quite emotionally moving. I also think it's some of Gibson's finest acting work, moving score and great emotional resonance, screw the Water soluble aliens. It was great.

The problem I find overall with his films, is that he almost started to believ his own hype and insert 'twists' for twists sake, this happend in 'The Village' which again was really well played out and genuinely scary for the first three quaters. But with his films you're always looking for the twist, which spoils it, I think I'd worked The Village out half way through and was disappointed to find I was right.

Adrien Brody's nose IS scary, but it was disappointing, sadly after that I've not been taken in by any of his other films, based on him resorting to being a one trick pony and that horse has bolted.

Which is a shame, he does suspense and emotional peril quite wqell, but I think it's a case of ego over stating talent for the most part.

Give him a decent thriller to direct by an established writer and he'd come up trumps. Airbender? *shrug* It will never beat 'Warriors of Virtue', now THAT was awesome.

[morris]

Originally Posted by rickyroma316

Still haven't seen Lady in the Water but I certainly don't have high hopes for it.

Don't. I watched it tonight and it's utter pants. Slow, meandering and pointless, it's like a more recent version of Coccoon, equally sickening and wholesome with the only air of danger provided by a bad CGI wolf made of grass. Feckin hell. Even bloody Twilight is better than this (the first two; I haven't been dragged to Eclipse yet).

AVOID.

[morris]

this belongs here.

[thedude]

I enjyoed The Sixth Sense, thought Unbreakable was better, everything else has been failry dire. He should bugger off for a few years and do something different, then come back with a clear head and write something totally from left field.

[Jonesy]

I don't think he should come back at all. The man clearly believes he has much more talent than he actually demonstrates. How he gets funding I have no idea.