Poor M. Night Shyamalan
 

Sorry Sistinas; couldn't resist the temptation.

Poor M. Night Shyamalan. I think it's safe to say his name has become box office poison. What went wrong? I personally think (and I know I'm not alone in this) that his overinflated ego is getting in the way of him admitting to himself that his talent is in directing and not in writing. He definitely has a talent for ratcheting up the tension in a horror film. However, this talent is wasted when the story doesn't live up to the tension created.

Now, confession time. I do enjoy most of M. Night Shyamalan's films. The Sixth Sense was good (though not the masterpiece a lot of people seem to think it is); there were some genuine scares and Toni Collette and Haley Joel Osment generated a lot of sympathy for their characters. Really liked Unbreakable. LOVED Signs. Liked Lady In The Water; I guess it was pretty corny, but I still felt people were way too hard on this film. I enjoyed The Happening up until the second half (or whenever it was they reached Mrs. Jones' farmhouse) then it just ground to a halt (and of course had one of the biggest "WTF?!" endings in movie history). The Village was the only one I really couldn't stand. It had one of the most obvious "twists" I've ever seen, and after all was said and done you realized pretty much nothing happened.

I still hold out hope that M. Night has another great movie, like Signs, left in him. I haven't seen Devil, but it looks truly awful so I guess I'll wait until it comes on TV.

How many M. Night haters and how many defenders?

I've watched most of his films and 'Signs' and 'The Happening' are my two favourites of his. I don't hate him.

He should just re-release Unbreakable every year. I'd see his movies then.

I don't understand why Shyamalan gets such a bad reputation when I have liked a lot of his movies like the sixth sense, unbreakable, signs, even the village and the happening. I didn't care for lady in the water that much. I have to say that he is one of the few people who can make an interesting plot. Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were really great movies.

I will definitely see the devil but probably wait until it comes on netflix or redbox.

There is a fine line between having an interesting idea or a good concept for a story and then finishing or writing it properly with a satisfying or suitable ending. Like many other modern storytellers in the business Nigh Shyamalan is a fine example regarding this matter. I think he is moderately good with in developing or establishing a premise & few characters for a 'sounds like interesting' story but then starts to lose it gradually. Other than Unbreakable I didn't enjoy his other films.

6th sense is a decent film but the overrated twist at the end didn't surprise me at all. I hate Signs & The Happening and sometime somewhat feel glad that I still haven't seen Lady in the Water & The Village.:)

I'm withe roshiq, Unbreakable was the only M Night movie worth a crap.

The only film of his I would defend strongly (besides Unbreakable) is Signs. I really enjoyed it.:o

Signs was a good movie IMO. I find it hard to feel sorry for the guy though. Most of his stuff has stunk to me, but Hollywood keeps handing him the reigns, not to mention millions of dollars to do what he does.
If I were him, I'd laugh all the way to the bank. I don't feel sorry for anyone with millions of dollars, as a general rule.

There are exceptions, but he isn't one of them.

I found some of his movies quite impressive while others were lacking substance.

For my Shyamalan ended at Signs. What a twist!

Girl you know it's true.

Unbreakable Signs...
 

Although I enjoyed Sixth Sense I thought the twist in Unbreakable was far more honest and effective. Signs was a good film but a notch below these. The rest are fairly sub par, The Village probably being the best of the rest. But do agree he should stick to directing. It's his strength.

Don't wait to check out Macabre Magazine when you get a chance.

I haven't seen "Signs" but his other works to me were lacking in true horror and suspense.

He is overrated in my opinion. But overall I feel North American film making lacks creativity.

The studios have money but no concept of how to make a decent horror film.

The American remakes of "Let the Right One In" and "REC" are classic examples.

And just like Blair Witch 2, Paranormal Activity 2 is just not a good representation of the best in the genre. Not even close.

Wow.http://activerain.com/image_store/up...7156536035.jpg

That's about M. Night... How?


I like peanut butter.

I think M. Night S. is highly misunderstood. People who have seen his former films like Sixth Sense and Signs are thinking that all his films have to do with scaring someone. I feel that is not all he is hoping to accomplish. He wants his fans to think and talk about his films whether they like them or not. An example that I feel achieved a lot in my mind was "The Village". It had a lot of substance going for it, such as suspense, great characters, intriguing plot and a surprise ending. It may not have been what people thought it was going to be as the conclusion, but I loved it and was shocked by it.

I don't really know where I was going with that...except I love his films. Scratch that. I did not care for Lady in the Water. When Devil comes out on DVD I will check it out.

Because he's part of the American horror/suspense genre, and quite rightly he should be criticized for not bringing it, given the boatload of loot he procures from film companies every time he has a project to bring to the screen.

Speaking of the overall state of the American horror/suspense genre, I just peeped "Monsters"-another monumental disappointment.

I love all of his movies...except Last Airbender. Havent seen it and im not really interested in it. Here's my order of favorites from best to worst.

Signs
The Village
The Sixth Sense
Lady In The Water
Devil
Unbreakable
The Happening

LOL! :D
I second that.
Used to like him, but the Happening... Killer trees that use the wind to make us kill ourselves?!
WTF!

..................

I have liked most of his films. There isn't one that I can say I truely hate. I haven't seen Lady in the Water though. But I am getting tired if this constent twist ending crap he keeps trying to do.

Theres no real twist in Lady in The Water so no problem there.

He's probably a victim of setting his own benchmark too high. The Sixth Sense has turned out to be almost iconic film making and everything he's done since has had the burden of expectation on it. It kind of reminds of the England football team. Sixth Sense was Shyamalan's 1966.:)

I like his movies. They're always entertaining and gripping for me. I just watched Devil last night and really enjoyed it. Hitchcock it ain't, but yet another interesting premise. The Happening was also novel. Perhaps we should just accept his style, watch his movies for what they are and, fingers crossed, he'll produce another classic along the way.

I actually have enjoyed all his films except Lady In The Water I found that frustratingly vague be interesting to see what he does next

I can see why some people wouldnt like Lady In The Water. It got a little silly at times but i liked that about it. You gotta remember it was a fairy tale he created for his kids and i liked it for that. Another problem that i think hurt Lady In The Water was the ads. The previews made it look scary which it definitely isnt. Then theres always the old standby, how everyone compares all of his movies to The Sixth Sense. People need to just enjoy each movie individually and stop always comparing it to the directors best work. Everyone would enjoy movies much better that way.

Here, here!!!! Relatively speaking, his work is consistently extremely good.

Like i said before, i love all his work and i just hope he doesnt let peoples constant criticism sway him in how he makes his movies.

Wow.. let's not go nuts.

Fuck that! Let's all go nuts!

WOOOOOOOO!!! :D:D:D:D:D

Wow....what was that? Excuse me, sorry.

No, no, don't stop!
WOOOOOO
WOOOOOO
WOOOOOO

Alright i'm not alone.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I'll have whatever you two are on lol