Who's an M. Night Shyamalan fan?

Do I think M. Night "shot his wad" by making his best film first? I do, to a point. I don't think that any of his film's have been horrible up to this point. Can I see people complain that his movies drag? Yeah, especially The Village and The Happening. Every one of Shaymalan's movies has a purpose in my eyes,whether it be social commentary, or an exploration of teamwork and social structure, to problem solving.

M. Night has a distinct style and point of view that I respect.

I understand when people panned the shit out of the Happening. (not to be a spoiler, I'll be brief)--there is no "twist", and I didn't see M. Night in it. I did feel a drag to this movie I did not feel in others, but I was still "into the movie". I still felt The Happening was relevant, and a hell of a lot more relevant and compelling than War of the Worlds or even The Mist. (the Mist pissed me off btw...)

What do other people feel about M. Night's movies in general (and specifics about certain movies if you wish...)

I liked the Theatrical Version of Sixth Sense. I didn't like how the video version showed all the things that you should have caught to lead you to believe that Bruce Willis was dead. Unbreakable was pretty good. I actually enjoyed it. Signs was okay. I haven't seen his other movies.

Sixth Sense is brilliant. Besides that, his other work is very underwhelming.

They haven't been horrible? The Lady in the Water is one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

THE SIXTH SENSE is a decent genre movie--it's not brilliant by any stretch. It's good in a genre that gets a lot of total crap, so it's the shiniest turd by far.

THE HAPPENING is one of the worst films of the last ten years. It leaves a stink on its participants. Mark Wahlberg built a lot of cred, and now he has to sweat every move because he was in the THE HAPPENING. Good lord, he'd better pray MAX PAYNE works or he's Dolph Lundgren part the second.

The other movies of his that I've seen are ok: UNBREAKABLE, THE VILLAGE, SIGNS. I like his directorial style--he can get a lot of little, but he needs to stop writing his own stuff--he's played out creatively.

Wow.

I guess I'm just a Shaymalan fan. I liked Lady in the Water. Although The Happening is his worst, it sure as hell isn't the worst I've seen this year, and as a matter of fact I appreciated the movie.

I was right there with you Dave, until LADY IN THE WATER. That was a *terrible* movie and the first one of M. Night's movies that I didn't enjoy.

I haven't seen THE HAPPENING but the word of mouth was pretty toxic.

The problem with Shyamalan is that he's unbelievably childishly self-indulgent and self-important, and, as he's given more and more free reign that comes with the accolades (and the money), you see it coming out more and more in his work. I'd say there is a clear and steady decline from Unbreakable onward.

There's a book out about him and his struggle to make Lady in the Water called The Man Who Heard Voices. Read it and you'll see how a (sorry, Dave) POS like LitW ever made it to the big screen in the form it did. Also, why he's nowhere near as good as he used to be.

I think Sixth Sense was brilliant. I thought Unbreakable was quite boring the first time I saw it; the second time (and every subsequent time), I was blown away by how good it was. After that? Downhill all the way.

Self-indulgent? I can absolutely see that. I can also see Shaymalan's popularity significantly dropping after each film he makes.

Do I respect him for not pandering, for producing, writing AND directing his films? Yeah. Do I respect him as a storyteller? Yup, he does "keep me in the moment". Problem is, he has become predictable, which has significantly decreased his storytelling potency. Even being a fan, I have become bored at times, looking simply for the "twist". I felt boredom start to set in during the middle of his films from the Village on. Have I watched all the way through? Yep. I was compelled to, but only because I know who wrote the story. M. Nights' reputation won't be enough even for me after a while.

I thought "Unbreakable" was M.Night's best flick bar none. Signs was meh... didn't see the rest- yet.

I somehow have a feeling that Ihaven't missed much.

THE SIXTH SENSE- decent, but gimmicky- showed promise.
UNBREAKABLE- Absolutely brilliant.
SIGNS- Kind of underrated, a little too PLAYHOUSE 90 for the big screen but some really interesting subtleties and some pretty good horror.
THE VILLAGE- Slow motion car crash- decent ideas, spoiled by some BIG narrative mistakes, a way-too-early Scooby Doo monster reveal, terrible writing, and horrible acting.
LADY IN THE WATER- One of the worst movies ever made. Completely irredeemable.
THE HAPPENING- Probably won't even give it a chance.

Shyamalan has one one major problem- he isn't nearly the filmmaker he thinks he is. I think those initial "The next Hitchcock" comments from THE SIXTH SENSE reviews went straight to his head or something. It's hubris, plain and simple. I do respect that he's at least trying to do some different things but at his worst he comes across as someone trying to be an "auteur" that he winds up just being precious, pretentious, and self-indulgent. I mean, Hitchcock made quite a few fairly pedestrian and not very good movies before he hit his stride and it was like 30 years into his career before he got into his really idiosyncractic, iconoclastic/iconic pictures like PSYCHO, VERTIGO, and THE BIRDS. It's very, very rare that somebody comes out of the gate and makes the kind of movies that _Shyamalan_ thinks he's making.

My wife made a good point after we watched THE LADY IN THE WATER crash and burn at the theater...Shymalan makes films _for himself_, not for an audience. Even his best work (UNBREAKABLE) shows that. He kind of expects the audience to go along with whatever he does but along the way he forgets that his role as a filmaker- BEFORE being an "artist" or "auteur"- is to simply entertain. Which doesn't work when he's putting over these really awkward, trying-to-be-something-special-but-failing images and ideas.

Watching LADY IN THE WATER was like having Michael Jackson walk up to you and kiss you full on the mouth and then stick his finger in your belly button.

Watching LADY IN THE WATER was like having Michael Jackson walk up to you and kiss you full on the mouth and then stick his finger in your belly button.

That's got to be the funniest comment ever to imagine being on the back of a DVD case:

"TWO THUMBS UP!" Ebert & Roeper

"A NON-STOP THRILL RIDE" New York Times

"like having Michael Jackson walk up to you and kiss you full on the mouth and then stick his finger in your belly botton" Michael Barnes

I liked Sixth Sense. I liked Unbreakable. Signs was "eh". The village was "eh"-. I fell asleep during Lady in the Water.

Shandyman is a wonderful cinematographer, but he shouldn't be allowed to touch screenplays ever again. His Twilight Zone schtick was too limited, but it was better than the crap he's been churning out lately. At this point, I doubt that I will ever pay to see one of his movies again.

Sixth Sense was okay, but not something I'd ever watch again. Unbreakable is a really good movie and tends to be underrated I think. Signs sucked ass. Haven't seen the rest of his work.

ARGH, Shellhead...don't make me be an internet pedant! He's not a cinematographer at all. Although the director does have some say in shot choices and is the guiding force in terms of visuals, the director of photography is really who should be accountable for cinematography since all the key decisions and technical aspects of the camerawork fall on that role. Shyamalan's worked with some pretty good DPs throughout his films though, that's for sure.