The Village (2004)

[horror]

"The Village" (2004) - Director: M. Night Shyamalan - Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver. [details]

[Scarymovie411]

I don't care what anyone says. I am a big M. Night Shyamalan fan. I can't wait to see this movie. Although I was a little dissapointed with Unbreakable. But I still can't wait to see this movie. A lot of people have been giving it bad reviews though...

Well, it is this review of The Village that makes me want to see it even more... Anyone who thinks that Signs was unbearable but then a few paragraphs later sings the praises of Don't Look Now must have no idea of what a good movie is. Signs is one of the scariest movies ever. Don't Look Now is one of the worst movies ever, if not THE worst. I am going to run very fast now to the nearest theater to watch it.
Next time, get someone who is a little less clueless in the scary movie department because this person has no idea what they are talking about.

[stacilayne]

Onemorefrog:

Where did I "sing the praises" of Don't Look Now? I was only making a comparison. I guess you didn't read my review very carefully. I never said whether or not Don't Look Now is a good movie, in my opinion.

Did you see the part about nearly everyone in the screening theatre laughing out loud? There was a also a pro screening last night, and I heard from some of my colleagues that the laughter was, again, uproarious. You may also notice that as of right now (1-ish, opening day) most of the critics are giving it a ROTTEN on Rotten Tomatoes. Even several of the ones marked FRESH still say negative things about the movie.

Nope, I didn't like Signs. A lot of people liked Signs. I don't condemn them for that. I don't think they have bad taste because they liked Signs... unlike the way some narrow-minded Signs fans think of those who didn't.

What a homogenized, dull world it would be if everyone thought the same. In case you didn't know, an opinion is neither right or wrong. I am entitled to mine, and if several TV stations, magazines and websites want to pay me for my professional opinion, then it is apparently worthy. Roger Ebert, one of the best-known, most-respected film reviewers of our time, gave The Village a totally scathing review in the Chicago Sun-Times. I was even a little taken aback (although I do completely agree with him). You can read it online today. By the way, Roger Ebert compares Don't Look Now to M. Night Shyamalan's films... http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/greatm...ntlooknow.html

At any rate, I hope you're not completely hateful: I hope that you also posted nice letters of support to the reviewers who gave it a good review.

Did you read the article in Entertainment Weekly? (With Phoenix on the cover) It may give you some insight to Shyamalan's marketing / hoodwinking techniques. I guess he's got you fooled -- you're already defending a movie you have never even seen.

I hope you do enjoy the film. I don't want anyone to have a bad a time at the movies.

= = =

This is for everyone else: Thought you might like to see a funny letter I got about my review of The Village, and my response to it --

> Since you are a horror fan, maybe you should stick to reviewing horror
> movies (one of the weakest genres around). Shyamalan makes suspenseful
> dramas, which require someone with an IQ of over 100 to appreciate.
> Horror fans don't qualify.

I loved The Sixth Sense. Does that make my IQ sub-par, also? You can't have it both ways.

According to a recent interview with The Calgary Sun, Shyamalan said that:

Growing up, he was "an avid fan of horror and science-fiction. My friends and I rented every title in the horror section of our video store. I saw all the great horror films but I also saw loads of dreadful ones. All of them had an impact on me."

In case you hadn't noticed, Disney/Touchstone is advertising The Village as a scary movie, not a suspenseful drama.

Best,
Staci Layne Wilson

= = =

I've been following the message boards for film fans, the professional horror writers assn., and screenwriters' MBs. Most of the comments about The Village are much less kind than mine. One respected, long-time, well-established reviewer who works for a newspaper and on the radio said: "Get a big iron skillet. Smash it against your head. Rub your scalp with iodine. It'll be a better time than THE VILLAGE." (This was his remark on a message board; not an official review.)

Opening weekend on The Village may be great. After all, this year alone The Butterfly Effect opened at #1. You Got Served opened at #1. Barbershop 2 opened at #1. Fifty First Dates opened at #1. Scooby Doo 2 opened at #1. Any of those destined to be a classic? I don't think so. Only time will tell if The Village is a classic. Get back to me in about five or ten years.

That is all I have to say on the subject. I'm on to my next movie review.

Staci

Well, sorry to do this, but two points you made about the movie in the review are incorrect. 1) Ivy was not born blind, which might have something to do with the way she moves her eyes (or bad acting lol), late in the movie, her father approaches her and tells her he was sitting right in that chair when he was told that his youngest daughter would never see again. 2) Shayamalan's cameo definatly included dialogue, where he tells the other man standing before him not to get into conversations with people, then turns back to his reading. Yes, I know I'm being unnecessarily picky about this, but I just got back from seeing it, and reading the review where wrong information is given bothers me somewhat. I went to the movie knowing I was going to be dissappointed about what the "creatures" looked like, and I found it quite drawn out and tedious, with a couple of suspensful parts thrown in that made me jump. Lots of people standing around and staring at things like dead animals, the forest, eachother, walls.... I enjoyed the twist near the very end, that one was more believable than the one that Ivy's father told her, the trailers for the movie make it look like one I would like to see, I was not astounded or amazed or thrilled, by this movie overall. Blah.

inkl:confused:

[stacilayne]

Thanks for the heads-up. I read in some early production notes on the movie that Ivy was born blind. If it said something different in the movie itself, I probably missed it due to the audience's laughter.

Unfortunately, movie reviewers are seldom invited to private screenings in ideal, noise-free settings. We have to sit in a theater full of people, which means: big heads often blocking our view, people eating and crunching, talking and laughing, running up and down the aisles, etc. I've been to screenings with all the well-known TV film critics, including Roger Ebert, Leonard Maltin, David Sheehan, etc, in attendance. We are all treated the same.

Everyone in the screening is human (at least I think so!) and may miss a word or a nuance. We are not allowed to record the movie in any way, so we have to reply on our memories, eyes, and ears. If someone else is laughing so loud you can't hear something, that's just the way it goes. I believed what I wrote to be true, due to the production notes.

On M. Night Shyamalan's "dialogue" -- yeah, a little too nitpicky! :)

Staci

and yes there was laughing. for example at the part where ivy goes into the room and starts slapping noah. and then more laughter at the heartrending cries of noah, a mentally challenged man who doesn't really know what he's done and the person he loves most in the world hates him. comedy gold! if you're a heartless moron!

the fact that you use the laughter in the theather of the unfeeling and unbathed among us to defend your review tells me a lot about you.

Just got back from this complete waste of time called "The Village"

Don't waste your money, go see any other flick!

You'll thank me later!

[stacilayne]

Hey, I never said _I_ was laughing. I have no control over all the other people laughing during the movie, drowning out the dialogue. You should check out user comments at IMDb from "regular people" (not reviewers) who saw the movie. Some liked it, but most were much less kind than I in their assessments of the film. Some people even booed at the end, and asked for their money back.

Staci

[Egekrusher]

Originally posted by onemorefrog
Well, it is this review of The Village that makes me want to see it even more... Anyone who thinks that Signs was unbearable but then a few paragraphs later sings the praises of Don't Look Now must have no idea of what a good movie is. Signs is one of the scariest movies ever. Don't Look Now is one of the worst movies ever, if not THE worst. I am going to run very fast now to the nearest theater to watch it.
Next time, get someone who is a little less clueless in the scary movie department because this person has no idea what they are talking about.

Signs? Scary? Those two words don't even belong in the same sentence. Fascinating concept? Maybe. But scary? Maybe if I was still 2 years old... but I'm not.