Saw M. Night's New Movie Trailer, Pretty Sure Nothing Happens In This One Either

[Fortis]

Bryce Dallas Howard is great at being creepy and was the best part (ie: only good part) of The Village.  I would love to see her in something where she's actually allowed to have a personality.  She was up for Rosario Dawson's part in Clerks 2.  That could have been kind of terrifying, but when I heard that I was definitely intrigued.

Haven't you seen her in Spiderman 3? She is great as Gwen Stacy, Peter's model friend, though she doesn't make a good model, she is too beautiful and healthy looking to be the model she plays in that movie.

Its good to see that she can pull away from Shyamalon successfully and still play good roles.

[DarthChimay]

I dunno.. I thought she was pretty useless in Spiderman 3. Not really her fault, mind you, but she just kinda showed up, said some words, danced, fell out a window, and was gone. Zero personality.

I just read a review of The Happening and the reviewer compared it to Neil Labute's The Wicker Man, so at least it looks like we might get a good riff out of it. I liked M. Night up through Signs, but then I saw The Village and disliked it intensely. What a goofy ending. I didn't even bother with The Lady in the Water. On the other hand, Unbreakable remains one of my all-time favorite superhero movies, so maybe he still has it in him. So long as he swears never ever ever ever to "act" again.

[SmilinJackRoss]

I still to this day wish oh so much that he didn't cast himself in that role. It just seemed like an egomaniacal thing to do. "My writing will change the world?" man that is such crap.

I saw it as it being part of the joke.  Joke isn't the right word....the movie has a self-awareness to it.  It's a genre movie that follows all the conventions, and then flips them over at the end.  The whole thing about Giamatti's character trying to figure out who The Healer is, who is The Guild, etc, thinking he has everyone figured out (along with the viewer), then realizing that he's completely wrong.  Also, look at the movie reviewer character, and how he describes how his character isn't supposed to die, moments before he actually does die.  This movie knows the conventions of this type of genre movie, and blatantly and purposefully flies in the face of them.

[Fortis]

I still to this day wish oh so much that he didn't cast himself in that role. It just seemed like an egomaniacal thing to do. "My writing will change the world?" man that is such crap.

I saw it as it being part of the joke.  Joke isn't the right word....the movie has a self-awareness to it.  It's a genre movie that follows all the conventions, and then flips them over at the end.  The whole thing about Giamatti's character trying to figure out who The Healer is, who is The Guild, etc, thinking he has everyone figured out (along with the viewer), then realizing that he's completely wrong.  Also, look at the movie reviewer character, and how he describes how his character isn't supposed to die, moments before he actually does die.  This movie knows the conventions of this type of genre movie, and blatantly and purposefully flies in the face of them.

You are a better Shyamalon fan than I...and here I thought I was the only one who liked all of his movies. I need to watch that movie again...I guess I didn't understand it as well as I thought I did.

[GregMcduck]

Well, there are certaintly some happenings in the red band trailer

http://filmdrunk.com/post.phtml?pk=1777

It's like someone made a suicide version of the Radiohead music video for "Just"

[Dim of the Yard]

I'm actually very fond of 'Lady in the Water.'  Paul Giamatti more or less sold the entire movie for me.  He was just plain incredible in that role.  I almost cried during the movie, and movies never, EVER make me cry.  Except for this one.  Damn you, Shymalan!

One thing that irked me about this movie was when everybody discovers that Cleveland misjudged the narf's... well, POSSE, I guess.  The movie reviewer was blamed for the misfire, but his evaluations of the different roles wasn't that far off base.  It wasn't like he was the guy who hunted everybody down and said, "Hey, you're special, let's save this thing's life."  That was Cleveland's gaff.  Which is fine.  I made a lot of the same assumptions about the roles as he did.  But did the posse have to pass of the blame onto the movie critic?  Seriously, I hate it when people pass off the blame, especially when some of the gaff rests on them.  C'mon, guys, own up!

[SmilinJackRoss]

I'm actually very fond of 'Lady in the Water.'  Paul Giamatti more or less sold the entire movie for me.  He was just plain incredible in that role.  I almost cried during the movie, and movies never, EVER make me cry.  Except for this one.  Damn you, Shymalan!

Each of Shyamalan's films has made me cry!

[Courtney]

Paul Giamatti more or less sold the entire movie for me.  He was just plain incredible in that role.  I almost cried during the movie, and movies never, EVER make me cry.  Except for this one.  Damn you, Shymalan!

Exactly.  Same here.  The rest of the movie was fine, nothing I'd see again, but fine.  His performance on the other hand was amazing.  When he's talking to her and begins talking to his family, it just destroyed me.

[Fortis]

Paul Giamatti more or less sold the entire movie for me.  He was just plain incredible in that role.  I almost cried during the movie, and movies never, EVER make me cry.  Except for this one.  Damn you, Shymalan!

Exactly.  Same here.  The rest of the movie was fine, nothing I'd see again, but fine.  His performance on the other hand was amazing.  When he's talking to her and begins talking to his family, it just destroyed me.

He did make that movie amazing didn't he...wow just thinking about that part is making me sad. Part of the reason why Shyamalon's movies can make you so emotional is the movie scores (not saying Paul Giamatti wasn't incredible in this movie, because he was). Listen to what James Newton Howard does with the soundtracks for these movies, they are incredible, especially listen to "The Healing" track in the Lady in the Water soundtrack which is when he is talking to his family...its extremely moving.

Dang...I'm going to have to rewatch this movie.

[Bob]

I dunno, the previews look pretty good to me................

[ScottotD]

Most people on this thread seem to like at least a couple of his movies, I like when threads turn around like that

[Maverick Joe Six-Pack]

Bryce Dallas Howard is great at being creepy and was the best part (ie: only good part) of The Village.  I would love to see her in something where she's actually allowed to have a personality.  She was up for Rosario Dawson's part in Clerks 2.  That could have been kind of terrifying, but when I heard that I was definitely intrigued.

Haven't you seen her in Spiderman 3? She is great as Gwen Stacy, Peter's model friend, though she doesn't make a good model, she is too beautiful and healthy looking to be the model she plays in that movie.

Its good to see that she can pull away from Shyamalon successfully and still play good roles.

I love BDH, I think she's must more attractive than Scarlett Johansson and I think she's done some great stuff.  I saw her in As You Like it recently and I thought she was great as Rosalind, over all the movie was pretty blah (Shakespeare in Japan... a little weird) but she was great in that as well as Lady in the Water and The Village.

I'll probably see The Happening just because his movies (although they each have their flaws) are entertaining as hell and the twists are usually pretty well constructed albeit predictable.  I liked Signs but the end just fizzled out for me at least.

[Courtney]

So I just saw a new TV spot for this and the major selling point the voice over focused on?  That it's Shymalan's first R-rated film.  That's its main selling point?  Really?  Then when the rating popped up, the R was huge and bright red. 

[SmilinJackRoss]

Not that I need any more reason to see it, but that rating intrigues me.

[RoninFox]

A lot of whats distinctive about the "scary" parts of M Night's other movies is how little you see, how obscured it is.  I'm curious to see if he can be as effective with more blatant violence and blood visible on screen (shoot theres more of it in the red band trailer than I remember in any of his movies)