lady in the water
:: MOVIE REVIEW ::
i recognize what my problem was. i was waiting for the infamous Shyamalan-twist, when instead it was unfolding itself as Lady In The Water went along serendipitously, resulting in a moment of dumbstruckness when the credits started to roll and i turned and said/asked: "huh? that's it?"
the only thing remains unchanged is the mood and pace of M.Night's movies ~ slow, languid and mood-building ~ which it did, alas the anti-climax. to be fair, the maturity shown as a filmmaker is constant, as does his also by-no-infamousridiculous cameos ~ this time a full-blown role with plenty of speaking parts and blank expressions-in-place-of-acting. personally, i'd be more than happy if he just stuck to his dayjob.
the subtle acting in this ensemble cast is also commendable, with the loser-ish-hero with a scarred-past in Paul Giamatti's Cleveland Heep gunning for top credit. Bryce Dallas Howard's Story just looks like she's in a perpetual deer-in-headlights-about-to-be-banged-mode (there's a thin line between "hauntingly-beautiful" and "haunting", yeh?), while the rest of the other tenants of the apartment complex (very much like 50-60's Chinese movies leh) provide appropriate comedic and nuanced performances ~ and maybe some NOT so nuanced - ie: Korean student neighbour Young Soon - and the film-critic with his hilarious monologue! *farnie*
mayhap a "mould" was what Night was trying to break out of ~ instead this HBO-ish offering (not that it's bad to be HBO-ish, mind) falls short of expectations (the movie posters were deceptively alluring and intriguing) but doesn't mean this is a bad movie. on the contrary, it is a decent piece of celluloid, which unfortunately does not measure up to his 6th-Sense, or even Unbreakable (which i quite very well liked, actually) ... heck, i couldn't even finish Signs, much less like The Village (becoz i figured out the twist, halfway thru the flick) ~ but of coz, that's just me...
but viewed on it's own? sans expectations? it's decent-ish enough for a weekday viewing ($7), but on a weekend? be patient and go rent it instead.
i recognize what my problem was. i was waiting for the infamous Shyamalan-twist, when instead it was unfolding itself as Lady In The Water went along serendipitously, resulting in a moment of dumbstruckness when the credits started to roll and i turned and said/asked: "huh? that's it?"
the only thing remains unchanged is the mood and pace of M.Night's movies ~ slow, languid and mood-building ~ which it did, alas the anti-climax. to be fair, the maturity shown as a filmmaker is constant, as does his also by-no-infamous
the subtle acting in this ensemble cast is also commendable, with the loser-ish-hero with a scarred-past in Paul Giamatti's Cleveland Heep gunning for top credit. Bryce Dallas Howard's Story just looks like she's in a perpetual deer-in-headlights-about-to-be-banged-mode (there's a thin line between "hauntingly-beautiful" and "haunting", yeh?), while the rest of the other tenants of the apartment complex (very much like 50-60's Chinese movies leh) provide appropriate comedic and nuanced performances ~ and maybe some NOT so nuanced - ie: Korean student neighbour Young Soon - and the film-critic with his hilarious monologue! *farnie*
mayhap a "mould" was what Night was trying to break out of ~ instead this HBO-ish offering (not that it's bad to be HBO-ish, mind) falls short of expectations (the movie posters were deceptively alluring and intriguing) but doesn't mean this is a bad movie. on the contrary, it is a decent piece of celluloid, which unfortunately does not measure up to his 6th-Sense, or even Unbreakable (which i quite very well liked, actually) ... heck, i couldn't even finish Signs, much less like The Village (becoz i figured out the twist, halfway thru the flick) ~ but of coz, that's just me...
but viewed on it's own? sans expectations? it's decent-ish enough for a weekday viewing ($7), but on a weekend? be patient and go rent it instead.
