(no subject)
Lady in the Water.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love M. Night Shymalan. It's no secret. I absolutely love his work, and he remains one of my favorite directors of all time. Most people have steered away from Shymalan's work with the lackluster box office gross of his last film, The Village (2004).
People expected it to be a horror film, (rightfully so, because the trailers completely made it seem that way) and not a suspense film. I was partially worried about Lady in the Water in the same resepect. Is it possible that the advertising would make it seem more like a horror flick than a suspense film.. again?
The answer is yes. The trailer did indeed make this film look rather scary - and anyone who knows Shymalan knows.. That's not his deck of cards. he doesnt make films to scare you, he makes films that make you sit on the edge of your seat and mess with your head.
This film was advertised as "a bedtime story by M. Night Shymalan". And indeed it was.
I was awaiting the classic Shymalan twist - but it never came. Which, I think, is a good thing - keeping the audience guessing.
The big plus about this film that I absolutely loved was its genuine touch of originality. Basically, this film is about a fairytale come to life in a really unique way. I truly enjoyed it.
Acting: The acting in this film was fantastic. Paul Giamatti (Saving Private Ryan, American Splendor) was the lead man, and did a fantastic job. Aside from Shymalan's small part (which is odd because he usually reserves a minor cameo role for himself) there were no other mainstream actors in this flick. Even though the stars were very few, the acting remained true and fantastic. Acting gets an A.
Special Effects: Extremely well done. ILM took the special effects job on this one, and did a fantastic job. Nothing looked fake in the least bit. From a ravaging wolf whose sole purpose is to kill the "lady in the water" (a narf), to a soaring eagle - everything was gorgeous. A
Sound: Spectacular. There was not much music - which only enhanced Shymalan's suspense techniques. I thought it was very well balanced and full of ambience and the foley was fantastic. Loved the sound in this flick. A
Story: The story was fantastic. So original, it was a breath of fresh air to me. The only problem is, I found it a bit overwhelming sometimes. It was a bit tought to grab everything being thrown at you all at once. But that was only in a few parts. Aside from that, fantastic. A-
Directing: Shymalan is a suspense director. He focuses on great actor performances and long, drawn out shots that make us scoot forward in our seats. I think he diverted slightly from his usual tendencies for this flick. I don't necessarily think its bad, I just think its a little tweak in his directorial stlye. A
When the credits rolled, I was more than pleased. I had heard alot of bad things about this film, and wasnt quite expecting anything fantastic. It blew me away. I absolutely loved everything about this film. It was so breathtakingly original and well done - not to mention that Shymalan took a step up and produced this flick (on top of his usual writing and directing it).
A great step forward for Shymalan, a breath of fresh air to my lungs.
I cant wait to see it again.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love M. Night Shymalan. It's no secret. I absolutely love his work, and he remains one of my favorite directors of all time. Most people have steered away from Shymalan's work with the lackluster box office gross of his last film, The Village (2004).
People expected it to be a horror film, (rightfully so, because the trailers completely made it seem that way) and not a suspense film. I was partially worried about Lady in the Water in the same resepect. Is it possible that the advertising would make it seem more like a horror flick than a suspense film.. again?
The answer is yes. The trailer did indeed make this film look rather scary - and anyone who knows Shymalan knows.. That's not his deck of cards. he doesnt make films to scare you, he makes films that make you sit on the edge of your seat and mess with your head.
This film was advertised as "a bedtime story by M. Night Shymalan". And indeed it was.
I was awaiting the classic Shymalan twist - but it never came. Which, I think, is a good thing - keeping the audience guessing.
The big plus about this film that I absolutely loved was its genuine touch of originality. Basically, this film is about a fairytale come to life in a really unique way. I truly enjoyed it.
Acting: The acting in this film was fantastic. Paul Giamatti (Saving Private Ryan, American Splendor) was the lead man, and did a fantastic job. Aside from Shymalan's small part (which is odd because he usually reserves a minor cameo role for himself) there were no other mainstream actors in this flick. Even though the stars were very few, the acting remained true and fantastic. Acting gets an A.
Special Effects: Extremely well done. ILM took the special effects job on this one, and did a fantastic job. Nothing looked fake in the least bit. From a ravaging wolf whose sole purpose is to kill the "lady in the water" (a narf), to a soaring eagle - everything was gorgeous. A
Sound: Spectacular. There was not much music - which only enhanced Shymalan's suspense techniques. I thought it was very well balanced and full of ambience and the foley was fantastic. Loved the sound in this flick. A
Story: The story was fantastic. So original, it was a breath of fresh air to me. The only problem is, I found it a bit overwhelming sometimes. It was a bit tought to grab everything being thrown at you all at once. But that was only in a few parts. Aside from that, fantastic. A-
Directing: Shymalan is a suspense director. He focuses on great actor performances and long, drawn out shots that make us scoot forward in our seats. I think he diverted slightly from his usual tendencies for this flick. I don't necessarily think its bad, I just think its a little tweak in his directorial stlye. A
When the credits rolled, I was more than pleased. I had heard alot of bad things about this film, and wasnt quite expecting anything fantastic. It blew me away. I absolutely loved everything about this film. It was so breathtakingly original and well done - not to mention that Shymalan took a step up and produced this flick (on top of his usual writing and directing it).
A great step forward for Shymalan, a breath of fresh air to my lungs.
I cant wait to see it again.