M. Night Shyamalans' Cultural Phenomenon

About a month ago, I watched The Village. Having never seen any of M. Night Shyamalan's films before, I didn't have any expectations. Overall, I liked the film. Since I didn't see any of the twists coming, they were effective. I liked the overall tone of the film. Not to say the film was perfect, far from it. The film seemed a little 'loose' - everything didn't quite come together. Also, the film's concept may not appeal to everybody. But overall, I found the film quaint, like a nice walk in the park.

I didn't want to post my thoughts on The Village until I saw the 'Cultural Phenomenon' know as The Sixth Sense, so I would have a more proper perspective on Shyamalan's work. Well, after putting it off for years, I finally saw The Sixth Sense. It was very impressive.

One thing I noticed about The Sixth Sense was that even without 'the twist', it would still have been a very good movie. If you look at a good movie like a nice cup of hot cocoa, The Sixth Sense would be like a nice cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows. The marshmallows, like the twist, are not required, but they make the cup of cocoa extra special. Not only that, but the twist in The Sixth Sense was expertly crafted into the story. It was seamless. The film seemed very well balanced, and there were no flaws in it that I could tell. The movie was simply excellent. Probably one of The Village's greatest flaws, was the fact that it was based totally on 'the twist' in it. No twist, no movie.

Many people have expressed disappointment with M. Night Shyamalan's recent relative misfires. (Blast him! It's not another Sixth Sense!) Some people think he is too arrogant coming off The Sixth Sense's success (which was fully deserved). Maybe it's true, but I don't really care. It's apparent to me, after seeing these two films, that he is both very ambitious and very talented. I think these are traits you would want in a director. I look forward to seeing more of his films, because he's bound to make another gem. I just won't expect every film he makes to be great.

Listening to: Err, well I never bothered to change my CDs, so it's still Norah Jones