Topic: Lady in the Water was crap.

[Pugnate]

One of the worst pieces of self indulgent b.s. I've ever seen.

[angrykeebler]

the guy who was working out only half his body was pretty hilarious though

[Pugnate]

hahaha I know.. I couldn't believe it.

[gpw11]

That guy was the only good thing about that movie, and he was horribly wasted.

[JacksRag(e)]

It's like after Unbreakable and maybe Signs, he started to buy into his own hype.  Then his movies become a way to stroke his ego.  Look at me, I'm super cool and mysterious.  LOVE ME.

[Ghandi]

Signs was horrible. One of the worst plots of any movie I've ever seen.

[Quemaqua]

I disagree entirely.  I liked the movie.  It was extremely odd, and of course as with all of his movies it wasn't anything even close to scary, but I really enjoyed it.  It was a very nice story about someone wanting to be more than they were.  Gave me the same kind of feeling as The Iron Giant.  I didn't think it was the best movie ever or anything, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

Signs wasn't a terrible movie, it just had nothing to do with the basic premise.  It was about the family drama contained within it, not the outer shell.  Most of his movies are like that.  I thought Unbreakable was pretty awful, though.

[Pugnate]

Sings was awesome!!!! I loved Unbreakable too.

[Cobra951]

I don't care how good whatever part of Signs you think is good was.  The sci-fi was so foolishly, negligently bad that it reduced the whole thing to a farce.

[Pugnate]

I thought Sings as a whole was awesome. As for the ending, I mean it may seem illogical but we were looking at the invasion from the point of view of a farmhouse family. Who knows why the aliens were desperate enough to invade the planet... it was something never discussed. Besides it wasn't the sort of movie to discuss the 'science' of it.

The whole movie took place at one remote location. How could the science of it be discussed with any satisfaction on that location?

Even though I am not religious at all, I was pleased that faith was shown in a good light for once.

M Night is one of my favorite directors, and I've really enjoyed all of his work. Lady in the Water was probably the first I didn't like at all. It was too much for me.

edit:

That's Signs not Sings.

[PyroMenace]

Yea, I feel the same way as Pug with M Night's movies. I loved Signs, that one is my favorite of his. The Village was alright, and Lady in the Water just sucked.

[Pugnate]

His next project is called "The Happening". It was initially titled "The Green Effect".

No studio wanted to be a part of it initially, but eventually he found someone willing. I am not sure if it is because the script looks bad, or because the movie will be R rated.

"In March 2007, 20th Century Fox, one of the few studios that was reported to be interested in The Green Effect,[3][4] greenlighted Shyamlan's project, now titled The Happening. Shyamalan and Barry Mendel will produce the film, which will be the director's first R-rated project.[1] Later in March, actor Mark Wahlberg, with whom Shyamlan had been negotiating at the same time as his deal with Fox, was cast into the lead role of the $57 million project, with production to begin in August in Philadelphia. The release date for The Happening is set for June 13, 2008, intentionally set for Friday the 13th to suit the thriller.[5]"

[Cobra951]

I thought Sings as a whole was awesome. As for the ending, I mean it may seem illogical but we were looking at the invasion from the point of view of a farmhouse family. Who knows why the aliens were desperate enough to invade the planet... it was something never discussed. Besides it wasn't the sort of movie to discuss the 'science' of it.

Maybe the disconnect between us comes from the fact that the science gaffes are not as obvious to you?  I don't know, I can't understand how anyone can get past this.  Picture Gladiator with freeways, telephone poles and the occasional Boeing 767 in the background.  It's not just a matter of taking a few liberties to tell a story.  It's a laughably flubbed situation, to any movie producer who would take 10 minutes to give a shit about the logic and details in his movies.

[TheOtherBelmont]

M. Night movies are interesting to see people discuss because there is a lot of mixed reaction between them.  Anyways, out of all of his movies I enjoyed Unbreakable and Signs(and I love sci-fi) the most.  I didn't really like The Sixth Sense.  The Village was kinda neat, but not as good as Unbreakable and Signs.

[Pugnate]

I just read script of his upcoming "The Happening". It will be released next year, and seems very different. This is going to be about gore and is looking to be R rated.

(click to show/hide)

Basically the planet is pissed off at all the polluting and has decided to get rid of human beings. It has released some sort of toxin that drives anyone inhaling to mass suicide hahaha...

edit:

There are at least 25 bloody messy suicides in the script.

edit 2:

Here is what Harry from AICN had to say:

link

Fox lands M Night's THE HAPPENING - it's a helluva script!

Hey folks, Harry here... Well Tom Rothman did the right thing here - There's a pretty strong anti-M Night movement out there in the world right now. Personally - I'm 100% on the other side of the tracks. I love the work that M Night has done - and I completely understand why the films that so many seem to vocally dislike - play that way towards them - I just don't share that opinion.

With THE HAPPENING, I predict if Fox stays out of M Night's way, that this will be seen as M Night's 'comeback'. Right now, I'm 40 pages into reading the 106 page draft of M Night's THE HAPPENING, which on this draft was known as THE GREEN EFFECT. THE HAPPENING is a much stronger title in my opinion... For one, THE HAPPENING is a phrase that feels and oozes 1960s. And what M Night has constructed thus far in this script is a very 1960's End of the World scenario. If you've ever seen NO BLADE OF GRASS - combine that to the premise of something like Stephen King's THE CELL - and you're heading in the direction that this movie goes in.

The script begins with some haunting violent imagery. The sort of imagery that instantly scares the shit out of you. This isn't a long slow build up to something, right at the beginning, the shit has hit the fan. It's downright scary nightmare scenarios. Everything the media makes us afraid of - it's happening all around us. I won't spoil what's causing things to happen, but I will say that by page 40 - the thing we're led to believe is happening... is a SCARY FUCKING THING.

It isn't often that I can pat Rothman on the back, but good job picking this script up. It's going to be an amazing film.

------

Ok - just finished the script. This has the potential to be the best film M Night has made. It depends on the casting, but he's always done well with his casting. As with all of Shyamalan's films - at the heart of the script is spiritual healing and hope. However, unlike everything he's done - there's a mean streak. I see why so many studios were scared by the film, as there is definitely a fatalistic vibe pulsing through this film. However, I've always loved stories about the end of civilization as we know it. They always make for interesting conversations after you see the film. The "what would you do, if you were among the last survivors of a global pandemic? This is an awesome "fear" story. We'll follow this production as closely as we can.

[Quemaqua]

Neat.  But yeah, I share the guy's sentiments on Night's movies that he stated at the beginning.  I completely get why people often hate them, I just happen to be on the other side of the coin.  At least mostly.  I really didn't care for Unbreakable at all.

[Ghandi]

Unbreakable took me a few views to like, but I enjoyed it after awhile. Good acting all around.

Also, true story: I was literally hitting myself in the head at the stupidity of Signs as I watched it. Maddox has a great article on some of the idiocies in the story, I'll see if I can find it.

[Jedi]

Maybe the disconnect between us comes from the fact that the science gaffes are not as obvious to you?  I don't know, I can't understand how anyone can get past this.  Picture Gladiator with freeways, telephone poles and the occasional Boeing 767 in the background.  It's not just a matter of taking a few liberties to tell a story.  It's a laughably flubbed situation, to any movie producer who would take 10 minutes to give a shit about the logic and details in his movies.

Hmm... interesting. I never had muh of issue witht he Sc-fi in the movie, but.. I never really viewed it as a sc-fi movie, I always felt the invaision was the back drop to boring family story.

[Quemaqua]

I'd argue the "boring", but yeah, I think Jedi hit the nail on the head.  It wasn't never even remotely a sci-fi story.  That stuff had basically nothing to do with the movie at all which I think is what made it so interesting.

[MysterD]

I think M Night has gotten worse w/ each endeavor.

The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, I thought, were his best overall works.

Signs was decent, but nothing great.

Village was on and off -- hated the first boring half of the flick, loved the second half. Unfortunately, that makes only for half a movie. Bah.

Lady In The Water -- well, she should've stayed in the water. It was terrible. Did I like the plot and story? Yeah. But, the pacing of the film was absolutely terrible and excruciatingly slow.

[Quemaqua]

Julia really liked Lady also.  We both agreed that he translated it from his story version well, given that the "excruciatingly slow" pace was rather perfect for a storybook-ish movie.  There were a few parts I found odd just because of the acting or the odd characters in general, but I thought the pace felt appropriate.

I'm really curious as to what ender thought of this one.  He and I often have similar taste when it comes to movies that I feel are somewhat along these lines, but people seem almost eternally divided on M. Night's stuff.

[scottws]

I never saw Unbreakable so I can't comment on that.  But I really liked The Sixth Sense and Signs.

The science flaws in Signs are obvious as Cobra states (aliens have the technology to traverse space but can't open a closed door, water is toxic to aliens yet they invade a planet that is mostly covered in it), but I still thought it was an enjoyable story.

I re-watched The Sixth Sense just last week and thought it was great all over again.  I love the very deliberate pacing of the conversations; it reminded me a bit of Apocalypse Now! in that regard.

I thought The Village was just okay.  It wasn't horrible.  I mean the twist did surprise me.  But it was just so boring and the twist almost seemed to render the rest of the movie pointless.

Lady in the Water was horrible.  It was tripping over itself explaining everything.  And the acting of that Asian girl was killing me.  It was atrocious.  For such a common character, surely they should have found someone better.  And personally I thought the story itself was just dumb.  I mean the idea that there are these beings that used to guide us was fine, but the idea that there are grass-wolves that kill them was completely retarded.  I mean what is the purpose of that?  They try to explain it as some sort of check and balance but it was just stupid.  Also, the whole movie was centered on getting her back to her realm and it was just dragged out far too long.

[gpw11]

Here is what Harry from AICN had to say:

link

Man, I stopped paying any attention to that guy (not that I really did before) after someone linked me to a blog post he made about Heroes.  It was 1000-1500 words on how the 15 year old girl in it probably has a permanent hymen and the logistics of fucking her (or something like that).  Not that bad, and kind of funny....until you think about his appearance and realize he's totally being dead serious.

[Pugnate]

...ewwww

[Cobra951]

Man, I stopped paying any attention to that guy (not that I really did before) after someone linked me to a blog post he made about Heroes.  It was 1000-1500 words on how the 15 year old girl in it probably has a permanent hymen and the logistics of fucking her (or something like that).  Not that bad, and kind of funny....until you think about his appearance and realize he's totally being dead serious.

That's funny.  I've thought of other problems like that, like how does the invisible man see?  His eyes can't focus or stop light.

[Pugnate]

I haven't watched a single episode of Heroes yet. Waiting for the first season to hit DVD... kindofa rip off of The Watchmen it seems.

[Cobra951]

The Watchmen?  I'm heavily into Heroes, so now I'm curious.  What is it?

[TheOtherBelmont]

The Watchmen?  I'm heavily into Heroes, so now I'm curious.  What is it?

Probably one of the best graphic novels (comic miniseries) ever made, especially in the writing department (Alan Moore).  The Wikipedia entry for it is pretty dead-on:

Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternative history United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union (the Doomsday Clock is at five minutes to midnight). It tells the story of a group of past and present superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. Watchmen depicts superheroes as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and who - with one notable exception - lack anything recognizable as super powers. Watchmen's deconstruction of the conventional superhero archetype, combined with its innovative adaptation of cinematic techniques and heavy use of symbolism, multi-layered dialogue, and metafiction, has influenced both comics and film.

Sorry to derail the thread, but I love Watchmen.  There's actually a movie of it being made by the director of 300.

[Pugnate]

Yup. Again Alan Moore is pissed, and I understand his point of view, but I am still excited about it.

[scottws]

I thought I'd dredge up this old thread to talk about M. Night Shyamalan and what exactly went wrong.  Obviously this thread ran its course before The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth, all three of which were completely horrible movies in all kinds of ways.  I mean it's really sad to say that The Happening is the best movie of those three.  It was a piece of shit.  I rewatched Lady in the Water a couple of years ago and I think I hated it even more after watching it again.  Basically, everything I said about the movie remained true, but it was somehow amplified upon a rewatch.

So what went wrong with this guy?  Was he basically a one hit wonder with The Sixth Sense?  I saw that movie again recently and it is a great movie.  I did end up seeing Unbreakable and it's pretty good.  Probably my third favorite behind Signs which, yes, I still enjoy.  But everything after that movie is basically utterly terrible. In fact, they just kept getting worse and worse as he made more movies.  I can't believe anyone associated with the movie industry still takes his calls.

What happened to this guy?  I mean he's clearly a hack now, but how does someone with some truly clever ideas and skills hit the pavement so hard so fast and never be able to pick himself back up again?

[MysterD]

What happened to this guy?  I mean he's clearly a hack now, but how does someone with some truly clever ideas and skills hit the pavement so hard so fast and never be able to pick himself back up again?

M Night is a producer for one of the better shows on TV this summer, called Wayward Pines (on FOX).
He directed Episode 1 of the show.
It's much easier to take say 1 hour TV show of his stuff (and that's with commercials - so if you DVR'd and skipped through commercials, it'd be even shorter).
Especially when he is not the lead writer.

[Cobra951]

I had forgotten about my posts in here.  (They still reflect my thinking about the whole thing.)   I have not even thought about this guy in years.  I was unaware he had a TV show.  I may have to check it out just for yuks.

[MysterD]

I had forgotten about my posts in here.  (They still reflect my thinking about the whole thing.)   I have not even thought about this guy in years.  I was unaware he had a TV show.  I may have to check it out just for yuks.

Wayward Pines is really good, actually.
He has a hand in production, mostly. Good thing he's only involved w/ producing and is not involved w/ writing!
He only directed episode 1, not any of the others.

[Cobra951]

Alrighty.  I'm always on the lookout for new things to watch.  I'll give this one a go.  Thanks.

[gpw11]

Wayward Pines is really good, actually.
He has a hand in production, mostly. Good thing he's only involved w/ producing and is not involved w/ writing!
He only directed episode 1, not any of the others.

Episode 1:  "This seems like an interesting new show"

Episode 4 or 5:   "Fuuuuuuuck this shit"


This show turned on me fast.

[MysterD]

Alrighty.  I'm always on the lookout for new things to watch.  I'll give this one a go.  Thanks.

I really liked most of Wayward Pines.
I liked most of the Season Finale, but didn't really care much for how certain things happened in the last 10 minutes or so.

We don't know if there's gonna be another season. M Night hasn't decided if he wants to do another season + FOX has not decided if they want to even renew it.

[Pugnate]

I thought I'd dredge up this old thread to talk about M. Night Shyamalan and what exactly went wrong.  Obviously this thread ran its course before The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth, all three of which were completely horrible movies in all kinds of ways.  I mean it's really sad to say that The Happening is the best movie of those three.  It was a piece of shit.  I rewatched Lady in the Water a couple of years ago and I think I hated it even more after watching it again.  Basically, everything I said about the movie remained true, but it was somehow amplified upon a rewatch.

So what went wrong with this guy?  Was he basically a one hit wonder with The Sixth Sense?  I saw that movie again recently and it is a great movie.  I did end up seeing Unbreakable and it's pretty good.  Probably my third favorite behind Signs which, yes, I still enjoy.  But everything after that movie is basically utterly terrible. In fact, they just kept getting worse and worse as he made more movies.  I can't believe anyone associated with the movie industry still takes his calls.

What happened to this guy?  I mean he's clearly a hack now, but how does someone with some truly clever ideas and skills hit the pavement so hard so fast and never be able to pick himself back up again?

I think he was very skilled at a couple of aspects of filmmaking but that well dried up by Signs. You've summed it up well. He went from being one of Hollywood's hottest directors to a joke.

[Xessive]

I think he was very skilled at a couple of aspects of filmmaking but that well dried up by Signs. You've summed it up well. He went from being one of Hollywood's hottest directors to a joke.

On a more serious note, here's an interesting interview from SDCC 2015 (about a month ago):