Inquisitor772 x Penny Arcade Fight Club ChampionA fixed point in space and timeRegistered Userregular
edited January 2021
I still remember the time I was in the theater and the preview trailer for Devil came up. When "Written by M. Night Shyamalan" came up on the credits, literally half the theater groaned and laughed out loud.
Okay so I rented and watched Promising Young Woman.
Holy shit.
Casting, literally every role, was so genius. Carey Mulligan should at least be nominated for her performance. I watched it weeks ago and I still think about the story.
Holy Shit is exactly what I said to myself after I watched it the first time
I still remember the time I was in the theater and the preview trailer for Devil came up. When "Written by M. Night Shyamalan" came up on the credits, literally half the theater groaned and laughed out loud.
Ahh Devil, that classic "let's drop a piece of toast to find out if Satan is around" movie.
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ObiFettUse the ForceAs You WishRegistered Userregular
It's a very thoughtful piece by a survivor of sexual assault.
That was a good read. I think maybe she went in expecting a different movie. (Huge movie spoilers)
I don't think the movie is supposed to be "empowering". So to say it doesn't achieve that is correct, but that doesn't mean the movie missed the mark. I think the movie set out to achieve a very clear message: that the system is so fucked up that the only way to get justice currently is to die. It's a bleak look at the current world and a gut-punching message to all viewers that we are a long ways from protecting and achieving justice for these women.
There are numerous other messages this movie gets across that I don't have time to type on my phone. This movie definitely has a voice with many things to say and it's a powerful one at that, imo
It's a very thoughtful piece by a survivor of sexual assault.
That was a good read. I think maybe she went in expecting a different movie.
I don't think the movie is supposed to be "empowering". So to say it doesn't achieve that is correct, but that doesn't mean the movie missed the mark. I think the movie set out to achieve a very clear message: that the system is so fucked up that the only way to get justice currently is to die. It's a bleak look at the current world and a gut-punching message to all viewers that we are a long ways from protecting and achieving justice for these women.
There are numerous other messages this movie gets across that I don't have time to type on my phone. This movie definitely has a voice with many things to say and it's a powerful one at that, imo
See also the ending of BlacKkKlansman.
You thought this was over? That there was justice, that things got better?
Commander Zoom on
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ObiFettUse the ForceAs You WishRegistered Userregular
It's a very thoughtful piece by a survivor of sexual assault.
Lots of spoilers here. Definitely watch the movie first.
FOR REAL if you haven't seen the movie, it's very possible to get VERY spoiled on this movie which will remove a lot of the impact the movie could have. Go. In. Blind. Do not read this stuff.
Some of the writer/director's comments on the intent of Promising Young Woman (explaining much better than I did up there):
When she originally sat down to write the script, Fennell had yet another ending in mind — one in which Cassie walks into Al’s bachelor party and triumphs — “the big, fuck you, cathartic ending,” she said, in which Cassie “is going to put on a sexy outfit and she’s going to kill a ton of guys!”
“It was never written,” she continued, “because the moment Cassie is in that room, I realized that there is no way of honestly showing that. Because it’s not true. And it was important to me to play out as realistically as I could, what this would look like.”
Indeed, Fennell realized that the fuck-you revenge ending was physically impossible: “I cannot imagine being in a room with a man and threatening him where it plays out in any different way — no matter how much we want it to be the case.”
.....
What happened to Nina has given Cassie a purpose — and what she does for that purpose “many, many male protagonists have been doing for years,” Fennell said. “Men are allowed to nobly die a lot.”
Yes, Cassie does die a noble death. And in her mind, when she intricately planned her revenge, she’s reunited with Nina — in emoticons, at least.
“She is heroic, even if that heroism is distressing in lots of ways,” Fennell said. “And it may not be right. But I do feel strongly that what she does was the only thing she felt she could do.”
On Korean flicks: I have loved The Man From Nowhere every time I've watched it. Just a badass flick.
On M&C: The movie is a love letter for fans. It's brilliant. The series is just amazing. It's wonderfully atmospheric. It is also surprisingly funny between Aubrey's immense social gaffes and Maturin's insistence on practicing the natural sciences while surrounded by sailors who drink his embalming fluid and get his poor creatures in trouble constantly.
"Stephen looked sharply around, saw the decanter, smelt to the sloth, and cried, 'Jack, you have debauched my sloth.'"
It's a very thoughtful piece by a survivor of sexual assault.
Lots of spoilers here. Definitely watch the movie first.
FOR REAL if you haven't seen the movie, it's very possible to get VERY spoiled on this movie which will remove a lot of the impact the movie could have. Go. In. Blind. Do not read this stuff.
Some of the writer/director's comments on the intent of Promising Young Woman (explaining much better than I did up there):
When she originally sat down to write the script, Fennell had yet another ending in mind — one in which Cassie walks into Al’s bachelor party and triumphs — “the big, fuck you, cathartic ending,” she said, in which Cassie “is going to put on a sexy outfit and she’s going to kill a ton of guys!”
“It was never written,” she continued, “because the moment Cassie is in that room, I realized that there is no way of honestly showing that. Because it’s not true. And it was important to me to play out as realistically as I could, what this would look like.”
Indeed, Fennell realized that the fuck-you revenge ending was physically impossible: “I cannot imagine being in a room with a man and threatening him where it plays out in any different way — no matter how much we want it to be the case.”
.....
What happened to Nina has given Cassie a purpose — and what she does for that purpose “many, many male protagonists have been doing for years,” Fennell said. “Men are allowed to nobly die a lot.”
Yes, Cassie does die a noble death. And in her mind, when she intricately planned her revenge, she’s reunited with Nina — in emoticons, at least.
“She is heroic, even if that heroism is distressing in lots of ways,” Fennell said. “And it may not be right. But I do feel strongly that what she does was the only thing she felt she could do.”
The conversation around this + the spoilers reminds me a ton of Barry's second season
A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
Can someone please rank every single piece of media that M. Night Shyamalan was ever even remotely involved (including movies he merely watched) in descending order of quality but I’m not looking for personal opinions just objective truth. Thank you.
boy he has made more than I realized
I have not seen Praying With Anger or Wide Awake.
M Night is also credited on some TV stuff, so I'll add that in as well.
This is an objective list, no one @ me, as there isn't any room for opinions on objectivity.
16)The Last Airbender
Beloved TV show ruined and it is also bad pretty much everywhere including casting. Add in that this had a huge opportunity to spawn a billion dollar franchise and you can count it at the worst of the list.
15)The Happening
By all rights, this movie should have never gotten made. It was blackballed for nearly 15 years by every producer in Hollywood until M Night's brand was big enough they couldn't say no anymore. From the premise, the acting (Wahlberg and Deschanel act as though they were back in highschool drama class, I legit don't know how M Night made this happen), the story, to the insanity of having menacing shots and musical stings as trees blow in the wind, this movie is laughably bad.
14)After Earth After Earth is bad, but at least it doesn't have any real M Night trademarks or self-indulgence. Maybe the biggest thing that damns this film is that no one's seen it and the ones who have don't remember it exists. Down the memory hole.
13 or 12)The Visit & Lady in the Water
I struggled to rank these against one another. The Visit has a rapping kid and a shit-filled diaper collide into one another, but it also has some legitimate scares and feelings of dread that made his earlier works so effective. On the other hand, Lady in the Water is Shyamalan at the peak of his self-indulgence by both casting himself in the biggest role in one of his own movies to date as well as writing a rough script with too many characters and barely any real plot with laughably nonsensical words and means to them. Fighting back against that is the fantastic cast, Freddy Rodriguez's character who has one huge, buff arm, and one weak one, and the fact that Shymalan tried to write something unique.
11)Signs
This one will probably get me some flak, but remember, this isn't opinion, it's objective fact. Signs is fine, if boring. Shymalan casts himself as the guy who basically saves the day with the most important information, Mel Gibson hadn't been outed as an antisemite drunk, and Phoenix wasn't a weirdo yet. Swing away from this mediocre film.
10)Stuart Little
I don't know how much of a hand Shymalan had in writing this, but it's workmanlike in it's quality as a kid's movie. Sure.
9)Glass
Glass was a huge disappointment coming off the previous entries in M Night's Unbreakable series. It manages to squander the leads, the (probable at this point) conclusion to the story, as well as the promise of what it could have been.
8)Wayward Pines
We're about to get into Shymalan content that are actually worth watching on this list. Wayward Pines is a fun, if flawed, mystery show that flies off the rails in its third act of the first season (I have not seen the second, so I cannot speak to its quality). The plot is twisty, the characters are fun, and Matt Dillon is a good leading man. It would spoil the bonkers plot to say much more, so if you plan on watching something that is fun and not trying to be high art, I would suggest a watch. You could do much, much worse.
7)Devil
Something bad's going to happen because the butter side of the toast fell down face-first onto the ground, blah blah. I adore movies that take place in a single room for 90% of the plot. The writing has to be tight enough, the characters developed enough, and the acting on point in order to make it work. I think Devil does this. Clocking in at 80 minutes, it also doesn't wear out its welcome. The elevator is a cramped version of the mansion from Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and walks the tightrope between mystery and horror. This movie also introduced me to Chris Messina and he is wonderful and should be in more things.
6)The Village The Village is good, actually. Here's a spoiler:
The fact that our lead character is essentially killed off midway through the film and Dallas-Howard takes over as the new lead was a legitimately ballsy move that I am surprised producers allowed.
Acting is good. Mystery is fine. Ending is fine. I think this is a solid movie that got shit on mostly because Shyamalan's "What a twist!" ending style was starting to grate on people by this point. Revisit the Village (lol) and you might be surprised.
5)She's All That
Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Paul Walker, Matthew Lillard, Usher, Lil' Kim, Gabrielle Union, Anna Paquin, Clea DuVall, Kieran Culkin, Kevin Pollak. Special appearances by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Milo Ventimiglia. This is probably in my top 10, if not top 5, teen rom-coms of the last 20 years. Shymalan only did some script doctoring here and was uncredited, so it's unclear how much of an effect he had on the final project. This movie might be good despite him instead of because of him, who knows. Yes, Rachael Leigh Cook is a homely nerd until she takes off her glasses and lets down here hair, get off my back.
4)Servant
M Night only wrote/directed a few episodes, but he's on hand as an executive producer, so his hands are probably mixed into the pot pretty well. This show is more creeping dread than outright horror. Mix The Boy with Rosemary's Baby. Shame no one has Apple+ TV.
3)Split
Controversial for the top 3? Maybe to some, but this is objective, sorry nerds. McAvoy is electric here, one location (mostly), and the fact that it's a
stealth sequel to Unbreakable
was a wonderful surprise.
2)The Sixth Sense
It's good. The twist allows for an immediate rewatch. Its scary. It has a good child actor, which is rare. A Backstreet Boy is in it. This movie put Shymalan on the map and (at this point) deservedly so.
1)Unbreakable
The best comic book movie made before the comic book movie renaissance 8 years later, and arguably, years beyond that. Bruce Willis still cared about acting as this point. The child actor is the only thing that hurts the film a bit, everything else is rock solid.
Also, Shyamalan was going to follow Devil up (Night Chronicles, a trilogy about weird horror based on the city itself) with a courtroom drama (literally modeled after 12 Angry men) jury focusing on whether a supernatural event had actually occurred, which sounds super weird and give it to me producers, you cowards.
@TehSpectre Thanks, I really appreciate that write up.
I am actually watching Servant right now which is why I asked my question. I mean, that's why I asked my completely open ended vague troll question without explaining what prompted me to ask my question. But now I can reveal the TRUTH.
Anyway, I kinda like Servant thus far. It's definitely creepy. I'm not a fan of certain visuals in it but I love the interpersonal drama and the framing.
@TehSpectre Thanks, I really appreciate that write up.
I am actually watching Servant right now which is why I asked my question. I mean, that's why I asked my completely open ended vague troll question without explaining what prompted me to ask my question. But now I can reveal the TRUTH.
Anyway, I kinda like Servant thus far. It's definitely creepy. I'm not a fan of certain visuals in it but I love the interpersonal drama and the framing.
I liked the first season. I've heard he 2nd season is rough, unfortunately.
Also, Shyamalan was going to follow Devil up (Night Chronicles, a trilogy about weird horror based on the city itself) with a courtroom drama (literally modeled after 12 Angry men) jury focusing on whether a supernatural event had actually occurred, which sounds super weird and give it to me producers, you cowards.
12 Angry Cthulhu
Singular because the classic M. Night Shyamalan twist here is that all 12 entities are actually just different manifestations of Himself, arguing with Himself.
Final scene: Pan out very wide to a destroyed earth where tentacled ghost fish monsters roam the earth.
Also, Shyamalan was going to follow Devil up (Night Chronicles, a trilogy about weird horror based on the city itself) with a courtroom drama (literally modeled after 12 Angry men) jury focusing on whether a supernatural event had actually occurred, which sounds super weird and give it to me producers, you cowards.
12 Angry Cthulhu
Singular because the classic M. Night Shyamalan twist here is that all 12 entities are actually just different manifestations of Himself, arguing with Himself.
Final scene: Pan out very wide to a destroyed earth where tentacled ghost fish monsters roam the earth.
Recently upgraded my home system to 4k UHD, so of course that entails rebuying all the classics (well, some of them). Anyway, just watched Jaws again and was pleased to see the wife almost jump off the couch when Ben Gardner entered stage left. Classic. Anyone who's found their way into this thread who hasn't seen it needs to remedy that situation - not leastwise so they can watch the people of Amity deal with a killer shark in much the same way some of our international leaders have dealt with the coronavirus. Gods bless you Mayor Vaughan.
I mean, it's no Hawk the Slayer, but Bruce could chew on the scenery almost as well as Jack Palance and that's saying something.
Watched the Vast of Night, on Prime. Really effective 90 minute movie. Built tension even though you obviouly know what is going on. Leads are very good, the relationship feels real. Camera work was good but bits of it seemed a little too cute or self indulgent. That felt a bit out of place because the rest was so limited in scope. Wasn't a fan of the reoccurring twilight zone TV set effect. It was a fine way to open and end with, but didn't need it in the middle.
The best comic book movie made before the comic book movie renaissance 8 years later,
was Iron Man the start of a renaissance or a dark age tho
Actually this got me thinking about what era I'd pick to represent a "comic book renaissance", and I might go with the 2000s (in spite of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk). By sheer coincidence the decade where I happened to be a teenager
Ghost World (2001)
Spider-Man (2002)
American Splendor (2003)
Hulk (2003)*
The Incredibles (2004)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Sin City (2005)*
A History of Violence (2005)
V for Vendetta (2006)
Art School Confidential (2006)
Persepolis (2007)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Speed Racer (2008)*
*not necessarily a good movie but worth mentioning for its stylistic innovations
TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
Wadsworth in Clue
I'd pick the 00's over the 10's for comic movie renaissance, easily. the 10's might have Shazam and Deadpool but also much more factory made consume the product mentality. The '00s have way more variety to them. X-Men felt different than Spoder-Man, and Punisher War Zone is insanely underrated for being a perfect comic book movie adaptation. And you have Iron Man and Dark Knight showing the best refinement of those first '00 movies.
You can throw Scott Pilgrim in either decade I guess but it wouldn't change my verdict.
The best comic book movie made before the comic book movie renaissance 8 years later,
was Iron Man the start of a renaissance or a dark age tho
Actually this got me thinking about what era I'd pick to represent a "comic book renaissance", and I might go with the 2000s (in spite of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk). By sheer coincidence the decade where I happened to be a teenager
Ghost World (2001)
Spider-Man (2002)
American Splendor (2003)
Hulk (2003)*
The Incredibles (2004)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Sin City (2005)*
A History of Violence (2005)
V for Vendetta (2006)
Art School Confidential (2006)
Persepolis (2007)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Speed Racer (2008)*
*not necessarily a good movie but worth mentioning for its stylistic innovations
I would argue that Art School Confidential is not good, Tom Jane's Punisher is missing, and Speed Racer is wonderful and arguably the Wachowskis' second best film.
Iron Man and Dark Knight came out the same year and I'd say heralded in the nerd culture and comics are cool, actually movement, and while The Dark Knight is easily one of the best comic book adaptations of all time, aside of Nolan's Batman trilogy, DC hasn't really cashed in on their potential as a giant like Marvel has, though DC has been trying.
And I'm talking mainstream renaissance, not so much comic adaptations in general. Iron Man, Captain America, Begins, TDK, & TDKR made comic books in general cool, whereas stuff like 90s Batman or Early 2000s Spiderman couldn't.
Also, Shyamalan was going to follow Devil up (Night Chronicles, a trilogy about weird horror based on the city itself) with a courtroom drama (literally modeled after 12 Angry men) jury focusing on whether a supernatural event had actually occurred, which sounds super weird and give it to me producers, you cowards.
12 Angry Cthulhu
Singular because the classic M. Night Shyamalan twist here is that all 12 entities are actually just different manifestations of Himself, arguing with Himself.
Final scene: Pan out very wide to a destroyed earth where tentacled ghost fish monsters roam the earth.
Also, Shyamalan was going to follow Devil up (Night Chronicles, a trilogy about weird horror based on the city itself) with a courtroom drama (literally modeled after 12 Angry men) jury focusing on whether a supernatural event had actually occurred, which sounds super weird and give it to me producers, you cowards.
12 Angry Cthulhu
Singular because the classic M. Night Shyamalan twist here is that all 12 entities are actually just different manifestations of Himself, arguing with Himself.
Final scene: Pan out very wide to a destroyed earth where tentacled ghost fish monsters roam the earth.
"Fin."
wait
you did watch wayward pines
I...didn’t?
This was a joke to how dumb the end of Wayward Pines is. Joke.
I'd pick the 00's over the 10's for comic movie renaissance, easily. the 10's might have Shazam and Deadpool but also much more factory made consume the product mentality. The '00s have way more variety to them. X-Men felt different than Spoder-Man, and Punisher War Zone is insanely underrated for being a perfect comic book movie adaptation. And you have Iron Man and Dark Knight showing the best refinement of those first '00 movies.
You can throw Scott Pilgrim in either decade I guess but it wouldn't change my verdict.
Punisher Warzone is the Batman Forever of Punisher adaptations.
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Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
Also, Shyamalan was going to follow Devil up (Night Chronicles, a trilogy about weird horror based on the city itself) with a courtroom drama (literally modeled after 12 Angry men) jury focusing on whether a supernatural event had actually occurred, which sounds super weird and give it to me producers, you cowards.
12 Angry Cthulhu
Singular because the classic M. Night Shyamalan twist here is that all 12 entities are actually just different manifestations of Himself, arguing with Himself.
Final scene: Pan out very wide to a destroyed earth where tentacled ghost fish monsters roam the earth.
"Fin."
wait
you did watch wayward pines
I...didn’t?
This was a joke to how dumb the end of Wayward Pines is. Joke.
Wait are you saying my proposal for 12 Angry Cthulhu is dumb?!?! I’ve already written 2,000 pages since this afternoon.
Iron Man is one of those movies where I’m like, well, I should watch it again because I must have missed *something* since it was so widely praised, including by a lefty critic I like who hates everything. Meanwhile I was just like...why would you base a movie around one of America’s horrific wars and not have anything to say about the war or anything else? Where’s the sense of style and sense of wonder that I want out of a good superhero movie? Why would I want to watch a movie starring a rich weapons manufacturer that was literally sponsored by the US military?
I did remember liking the scene where Jeff Bridges and RDJ banter over pizza
edit: and hey, I do remember the movie enough to critique it which is more than I can say for the goddamn Edward Norton Hulk movie
Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
Also, Shyamalan was going to follow Devil up (Night Chronicles, a trilogy about weird horror based on the city itself) with a courtroom drama (literally modeled after 12 Angry men) jury focusing on whether a supernatural event had actually occurred, which sounds super weird and give it to me producers, you cowards.
12 Angry Cthulhu
Singular because the classic M. Night Shyamalan twist here is that all 12 entities are actually just different manifestations of Himself, arguing with Himself.
Final scene: Pan out very wide to a destroyed earth where tentacled ghost fish monsters roam the earth.
"Fin."
wait
you did watch wayward pines
I...didn’t?
This was a joke to how dumb the end of Wayward Pines is. Joke.
Wait are you saying my proposal for 12 Angry Cthulhu is dumb?!?! I’ve already written 2,000 pages since this afternoon.
12 angry kaiju
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
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DeadfallI don't think you realize just how rich he is.In fact, I should put on a monocle.Registered Userregular
Iron Man is one of those movies where I’m like, well, I should watch it again because I must have missed *something* since it was so widely praised, including by a lefty critic I like who hates everything. Meanwhile I was just like...why would you base a movie around one of America’s horrific wars and not have anything to say about the war or anything else? Where’s the sense of style and sense of wonder that I want out of a good superhero movie? Why would I want to watch a movie starring a rich weapons manufacturer that was literally sponsored by the US military?
I did remember liking the scene where Jeff Bridges and RDJ banter over pizza
edit: and hey, I do remember the movie enough to critique it which is more than I can say for the goddamn Edward Norton Hulk movie
I mean
The plot revolves around Stark cancelling his weapons programs because they're being sold to the enemy.
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Holy shit.
Casting, literally every role, was so genius. Carey Mulligan should at least be nominated for her performance. I watched it weeks ago and I still think about the story.
Holy Shit is exactly what I said to myself after I watched it the first time
It's a very thoughtful piece by a survivor of sexual assault.
Ahh Devil, that classic "let's drop a piece of toast to find out if Satan is around" movie.
That was a good read. I think maybe she went in expecting a different movie. (Huge movie spoilers)
There are numerous other messages this movie gets across that I don't have time to type on my phone. This movie definitely has a voice with many things to say and it's a powerful one at that, imo
Lots of spoilers here. Definitely watch the movie first.
FOR REAL if you haven't seen the movie, it's very possible to get VERY spoiled on this movie which will remove a lot of the impact the movie could have. Go. In. Blind. Do not read this stuff.
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/promising-young-woman-ending-spoilers-2-1234885400/amp/
Some of the writer/director's comments on the intent of Promising Young Woman (explaining much better than I did up there):
“It was never written,” she continued, “because the moment Cassie is in that room, I realized that there is no way of honestly showing that. Because it’s not true. And it was important to me to play out as realistically as I could, what this would look like.”
Indeed, Fennell realized that the fuck-you revenge ending was physically impossible: “I cannot imagine being in a room with a man and threatening him where it plays out in any different way — no matter how much we want it to be the case.”
.....
What happened to Nina has given Cassie a purpose — and what she does for that purpose “many, many male protagonists have been doing for years,” Fennell said. “Men are allowed to nobly die a lot.”
Yes, Cassie does die a noble death. And in her mind, when she intricately planned her revenge, she’s reunited with Nina — in emoticons, at least.
“She is heroic, even if that heroism is distressing in lots of ways,” Fennell said. “And it may not be right. But I do feel strongly that what she does was the only thing she felt she could do.”
On M&C: The movie is a love letter for fans. It's brilliant. The series is just amazing. It's wonderfully atmospheric. It is also surprisingly funny between Aubrey's immense social gaffes and Maturin's insistence on practicing the natural sciences while surrounded by sailors who drink his embalming fluid and get his poor creatures in trouble constantly.
The conversation around this + the spoilers reminds me a ton of Barry's second season
M Night is also credited on some TV stuff, so I'll add that in as well.
This is an objective list, no one @ me, as there isn't any room for opinions on objectivity.
16) The Last Airbender
Beloved TV show ruined and it is also bad pretty much everywhere including casting. Add in that this had a huge opportunity to spawn a billion dollar franchise and you can count it at the worst of the list.
15) The Happening
By all rights, this movie should have never gotten made. It was blackballed for nearly 15 years by every producer in Hollywood until M Night's brand was big enough they couldn't say no anymore. From the premise, the acting (Wahlberg and Deschanel act as though they were back in highschool drama class, I legit don't know how M Night made this happen), the story, to the insanity of having menacing shots and musical stings as trees blow in the wind, this movie is laughably bad.
14) After Earth
After Earth is bad, but at least it doesn't have any real M Night trademarks or self-indulgence. Maybe the biggest thing that damns this film is that no one's seen it and the ones who have don't remember it exists. Down the memory hole.
13 or 12) The Visit & Lady in the Water
I struggled to rank these against one another. The Visit has a rapping kid and a shit-filled diaper collide into one another, but it also has some legitimate scares and feelings of dread that made his earlier works so effective. On the other hand, Lady in the Water is Shyamalan at the peak of his self-indulgence by both casting himself in the biggest role in one of his own movies to date as well as writing a rough script with too many characters and barely any real plot with laughably nonsensical words and means to them. Fighting back against that is the fantastic cast, Freddy Rodriguez's character who has one huge, buff arm, and one weak one, and the fact that Shymalan tried to write something unique.
11) Signs
This one will probably get me some flak, but remember, this isn't opinion, it's objective fact. Signs is fine, if boring. Shymalan casts himself as the guy who basically saves the day with the most important information, Mel Gibson hadn't been outed as an antisemite drunk, and Phoenix wasn't a weirdo yet. Swing away from this mediocre film.
10) Stuart Little
I don't know how much of a hand Shymalan had in writing this, but it's workmanlike in it's quality as a kid's movie. Sure.
9) Glass
Glass was a huge disappointment coming off the previous entries in M Night's Unbreakable series. It manages to squander the leads, the (probable at this point) conclusion to the story, as well as the promise of what it could have been.
8) Wayward Pines
We're about to get into Shymalan content that are actually worth watching on this list. Wayward Pines is a fun, if flawed, mystery show that flies off the rails in its third act of the first season (I have not seen the second, so I cannot speak to its quality). The plot is twisty, the characters are fun, and Matt Dillon is a good leading man. It would spoil the bonkers plot to say much more, so if you plan on watching something that is fun and not trying to be high art, I would suggest a watch. You could do much, much worse.
7) Devil
Something bad's going to happen because the butter side of the toast fell down face-first onto the ground, blah blah. I adore movies that take place in a single room for 90% of the plot. The writing has to be tight enough, the characters developed enough, and the acting on point in order to make it work. I think Devil does this. Clocking in at 80 minutes, it also doesn't wear out its welcome. The elevator is a cramped version of the mansion from Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and walks the tightrope between mystery and horror. This movie also introduced me to Chris Messina and he is wonderful and should be in more things.
6) The Village
The Village is good, actually. Here's a spoiler:
5) She's All That
Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Paul Walker, Matthew Lillard, Usher, Lil' Kim, Gabrielle Union, Anna Paquin, Clea DuVall, Kieran Culkin, Kevin Pollak. Special appearances by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Milo Ventimiglia. This is probably in my top 10, if not top 5, teen rom-coms of the last 20 years. Shymalan only did some script doctoring here and was uncredited, so it's unclear how much of an effect he had on the final project. This movie might be good despite him instead of because of him, who knows. Yes, Rachael Leigh Cook is a homely nerd until she takes off her glasses and lets down here hair, get off my back.
4) Servant
M Night only wrote/directed a few episodes, but he's on hand as an executive producer, so his hands are probably mixed into the pot pretty well. This show is more creeping dread than outright horror. Mix The Boy with Rosemary's Baby. Shame no one has Apple+ TV.
3) Split
Controversial for the top 3? Maybe to some, but this is objective, sorry nerds. McAvoy is electric here, one location (mostly), and the fact that it's a
2) The Sixth Sense
It's good. The twist allows for an immediate rewatch. Its scary. It has a good child actor, which is rare. A Backstreet Boy is in it. This movie put Shymalan on the map and (at this point) deservedly so.
1) Unbreakable
The best comic book movie made before the comic book movie renaissance 8 years later, and arguably, years beyond that. Bruce Willis still cared about acting as this point. The child actor is the only thing that hurts the film a bit, everything else is rock solid.
@Drez
Signs is also boring as hell.
Also, also, it's an objective list, sorry.
Objective list.
I am actually watching Servant right now which is why I asked my question. I mean, that's why I asked my completely open ended vague troll question without explaining what prompted me to ask my question. But now I can reveal the TRUTH.
Anyway, I kinda like Servant thus far. It's definitely creepy. I'm not a fan of certain visuals in it but I love the interpersonal drama and the framing.
12 Angry Cthulhu
Singular because the classic M. Night Shyamalan twist here is that all 12 entities are actually just different manifestations of Himself, arguing with Himself.
Final scene: Pan out very wide to a destroyed earth where tentacled ghost fish monsters roam the earth.
"Fin."
you did watch wayward pines
I mean, it's no Hawk the Slayer, but Bruce could chew on the scenery almost as well as Jack Palance and that's saying something.
If you have amazon and 85 minutes check it out.
Actually this got me thinking about what era I'd pick to represent a "comic book renaissance", and I might go with the 2000s (in spite of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk). By sheer coincidence the decade where I happened to be a teenager
Ghost World (2001)
Spider-Man (2002)
American Splendor (2003)
Hulk (2003)*
The Incredibles (2004)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Sin City (2005)*
A History of Violence (2005)
V for Vendetta (2006)
Art School Confidential (2006)
Persepolis (2007)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Speed Racer (2008)*
*not necessarily a good movie but worth mentioning for its stylistic innovations
You can throw Scott Pilgrim in either decade I guess but it wouldn't change my verdict.
Iron Man and Dark Knight came out the same year and I'd say heralded in the nerd culture and comics are cool, actually movement, and while The Dark Knight is easily one of the best comic book adaptations of all time, aside of Nolan's Batman trilogy, DC hasn't really cashed in on their potential as a giant like Marvel has, though DC has been trying.
And I'm talking mainstream renaissance, not so much comic adaptations in general. Iron Man, Captain America, Begins, TDK, & TDKR made comic books in general cool, whereas stuff like 90s Batman or Early 2000s Spiderman couldn't.
I...didn’t?
Battlefield Earth at least is so ineptly made that it wraps around to hilarious
Wait are you saying my proposal for 12 Angry Cthulhu is dumb?!?! I’ve already written 2,000 pages since this afternoon.
I did remember liking the scene where Jeff Bridges and RDJ banter over pizza
edit: and hey, I do remember the movie enough to critique it which is more than I can say for the goddamn Edward Norton Hulk movie
12 angry kaiju
I mean
The plot revolves around Stark cancelling his weapons programs because they're being sold to the enemy.
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