M. Night Shyamalan

What does everyone think of this Writer/Director?

I take my hat off to him, very skillfull, intelligent, risky yet always comes up with the goods, really enjoyed all his movies so far.

His first two big releases were excellent. Signs is okay. His next project is crucial IMHO. Otherwise it may have been a one-off peak type thing. I hope not because Sixth Sense was damn good.

One problem I have is that his writing doesn't make well for long term rewatching - which implies he's not quite hit classic status. I just can't sit through Signs again even though I thought it was entertaining the first time. Ditto Unbreakable after 3 watches. Even Sixth Sense doesn't hold my interest for a repeated viewing any more (okay, I've seen it 7 times now). His writing is smart and engaging but honeymoon-ish.

As a director, he's excellent. I would like to see him do someone else's solid script. I hear his next movie is The Woods, and it's his own script so we'll see.

The Sixth Sense was entertaining, but Unbreakable should have been renamed Unbearable IMHO, pretentious, silly and dull.

I think I'm the only person alive that hated the Sixth Sense. What a shitty movie.

When he made the Sixth Sense, he really created something good. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but I really didn't see the ending coming AT ALL, it was so cleverly filmed, and to experience that kind of totally unforseen conclusion to a movie is rare in todays film industry.

Anyway, I think ever since then he's been trying to make movies that re-create the same kind of jaw-dropping endings. In Unbreakable, which was a somewhat below average film in my opinion, he clearly seems to be reaching for that same sense of surprise and shock that the Sixth Sense had but comes up short. Frankly, I thought the ending of that movie was very predictable. Same thing with Signs, which was an OK movie, but the ending just seemed to be reaching for something and coming up short.

Overall though, I'd take his stuff over 90 percent of the other garbage out there.

Contains spoilers (sort of)

I personally think most of Shyamalans work is pretty much average, and nothing more.

The sixth sense was alright, with somewhat well-developed characters and a pretty creepy "feel" to it. On a side-note, great acting by Bruce Willis.

Unbreakable was, in my opinion, nothing but a long drawn-out crappy pretentious bore. Bad script, decent cinematography.

However, Signs is one of (if not THE) worst pieces of crap i've ever seen. First of all, the dialogue is just plain weird, and doesn't feel "real" at all. I understand that he was trying to create a feeling of the family being under a lot of pressure, and perhaps also a feeling of underlying family dysfunction, with his wife's death and everything, but to me, the conversations between the family members (which is what this movie mostly consists of) never comes across as being genuine, therefore ruining the whole feeling of fear and stress. Also, what's up with the aliens? hasn't there been some technical advances in the special effects field since..well..the 50's? from which time mr Night seems to have hired special effects people, and why 'oh why did he have to give acting a try...

I apologize in advance for the crappy grammar, and general composition of my post, english is not my primary language.

^^^ he's actually been in all of his movies, as cameos. just FYI

i think the guy deserves credit for taking on all the major tasks in his films, except for acting. adn besides that his movies are thought-provoking and entertaining

No... thought provoking shouldn't be used to describe movies like Signs or Unbreakable. Shyamalan's movies are overbearingly pretentious, Unbreakable most of all. The Sixth Sense and Signs were both somewhat entertaining, but that is due more to the acting by Osment and Pheonix (respectively) than anything else. Unbreakable was one of the worst sophomore efforts since Mallrats. Talk about a strong breakout preformance and a weak follow up.

Sure, the man has talent as a director, but I think he should give someone else's screenplay a try next time... that or else drop the arthouse angle and try something a little less... boring.

Adios,
Steve

I really enjoyed the 'sixth sense' and 'Signs' but lke many others 'Unbreakable' didn't live up to expectation. But I am certainly developing into a fan of his. And definately be intending on seeking out his work in the future.

one problem I always had with Unbreakable was that I was aware of the camera at times during the movie. The audience should never be aware of what the camera is doing. The shots were very obviously trying to create a style rather than just be part of the overall feel.

twominds said:

I really enjoyed the 'sixth sense' and 'Signs' but lke many others 'Unbreakable' didn't live up to expectation. But I am certainly developing into a fan of his. And definately be intending on seeking out his work in the future.

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Word. I liked Sixth Sense, the Village and Signs . I heard that he is co-writing/producing the big screen adaptation of one of my favorite books Life of Pi by Yann Martel and I cant wait to see this (in preproduction as we speak, slated for release 2007).

Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zookeeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi is found adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival.

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Cant wait to see how he fares in this......totally different from what he's done and im sure will be quite refreshing.
Trivia: the lead character in the book Pi is originally from Pondicherry , India ---> the same place Night was born in 1970.

One thing Id like to pointout. If some of his movies are watchable only b/c of good acting, then he has something to do with that. A director usually is the one who gets the actor into the right frame of mind to pull off a scene, so to sit here and say that some of his movies are only good b/c of acting doesn't take away from his abiltiy to make a good or decent flick, in fact, it only enhances it.

his next release looks fantastic. Paul Giamatti is the main character, and that alone is a great sign.
plot synopsis:

A modest building manager named Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) rescues a mysterious young woman (Dallas Howard) from danger and discovers she is actually a narf, a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the treacherous journey from our world back to hers. Cleveland and his fellow tenants start to realise that they are also characters in this bedtime story. As Cleveland falls deeper and deeper in love with the woman, he works together with the tenants to protect his new fragile friend from the deadly creatures that reside in this fable and are determined to prevent her from returning home.

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taken from http://thecia.com.au/reviews/l/lady-in-the-water.shtml

official site: http://ladyinthewatermovie.warnerbros.com/

i saw the trailer in the theatres, and have to say it gave me chills when "a bed time story from M Night Shyamalan" appeared at the end. very intruiging to say the least.

I like Paul Giamatti, but not sure if I like him enough to see one of M. Night's visual turds.

crystalcallas said:

Word. I liked Sixth Sense, the Village and Signs . I heard that he is co-writing/producing the big screen adaptation of one of my favorite books Life of Pi by Yann Martel and I cant wait to see this (in preproduction as we speak, slated for release 2007).

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Well, there goes any chance of the movie adaptation being any good.

I think there a few people in the industry today that can deliver such awsome shots and atmosphere in a movie than M.night. Im a huge fan of the village, and all his movies ecept unbreakable. Cant wait for his next instalment.

By the way is just me that noticed there was a 2 year gap between posts just b4 ??? lol thats huge !

BA, earth to BA! We eagerly wait your caustic (yet hilarious) remarks. Something about a reflection of a fairy that's actually a pigeon....? Make with the laugh laugh!

The Sixth Sense and Signs were decent movies. I couldn't stand Unbreakable. As for "The Woods", any screenwriter that needs to add a whole paragraph of dialogue to explain the plot needs to re-think being a screenwriter. I am speaking of Shyamalans cameo in The Woods. He was the guy at the end who had to explain to the security guard about why the reserve they were guarding was so secret. That is usually the sign of a writer having written himself into a corner... so to speak.