JoBlo on "Lady"
"When was the last time we had a great fantasy film to watch? M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water is the best film of its kind since The Princess Bride, another fantasy movie that also begins with a bedtime story and deals with many of the same themes."-- Mike Sampson on JoBlo.com. In the Shyamalan annals, Sampson also claims it's "one of his best." That's a little vague, no? It's not as if Night has made 12 or 15 films. "One of his best" means...what?...that it's better than Unbreakable or...?
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 27, 2006 at 4:40 PM
comment #1
Mike Gebert says ...
Yeah, you could be Shyamalan's second best movie and still be borderline lousy. (Unbreakable would have been a great movie if it had gone balls-out baroque at the end and given Samuel L. a secret underground lair and a laser death ray aimed at Washington and all the other trappings of Dr. Evildom. Instead, we get titles explaining how many comic books are sold every year. That's when I knew Shlamamaman wasn't the genius he thought he was.)
Posted by Mike Gebert at June 27, 2006 4:52 PM
comment #2
Daniel Zelter says ...
Where's the fantasy? I don't see any special effects in the trailer.
Posted by Daniel Zelter at June 27, 2006 5:04 PM
comment #3
Hopscotch says ...
probably the most overrated director out there right now. "I left Disney because they didn't recognize my genius". what an asshole.
Posted by Hopscotch at June 27, 2006 5:43 PM
comment #4
Chris says ...
Unbreakable is still an excellent movie. If Lady in the Water is as good as Unbreakable, then this will be solid entertainment.
Posted by Chris at June 27, 2006 6:51 PM
comment #5
Daniel Zelter says ...
Wow, the latest trailer at http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2006/IJKLM/Lady-in-the-Water/trailer.php begins with a pretentious introduction.
Posted by Daniel Zelter at June 27, 2006 7:08 PM
comment #6
akabob says ...
Night's "Signs" is both the funniest and worst movie I've seen in years. "No! I'm not gonna eat those mashed pototoes!" Ha! I can't believe he's gotten away with this "genius" tag for as long as he has. That said, the great Christopher Doyle shot "Lady in the Water" so it might warrant a LOOK. "Unbreakable" was worth it just for Sam Jackson's deranged "Gumby" hairdo.
Posted by akabob at June 27, 2006 7:36 PM
comment #7
insidah says ...
I remember reading the Time magazine cover story about M. Night a few years back on the beach with friends. He came across as the most ridiculously egotistical person. My similarly Ivy League educated friends and I passed around the magazine and all agreed that M. Night should go fuck himself.
Posted by insidah at June 27, 2006 11:18 PM
comment #8
BL says ...
The TV commercial for "Lady" with the kid whispering is really lame.
That said - if the movie's good - bully for MNS from pulling out of his horrific rut - I really liked "The 6th Sense"
Posted by BL at June 27, 2006 11:50 PM
comment #9
Bob says ...
"When was the last time we had a great fantasy film to watch?"
Um... you mean other than LOTR two years back? Narnia a few months ago? Superman TODAY? :)
Posted by Bob at June 27, 2006 11:50 PM
comment #10
Mike says ...
I probably should've just left out the "one of his best" line altogether. It is vague but I chickened out calling it definitively his best because I do enjoy UNBREAKABLE so much.
And yes, this is really a fantasy movie at heart. The special effects are limited but they are definitely there (including the big finale).
Posted by Mike at June 28, 2006 4:42 AM
comment #11
Mike says ...
Bob - I hated LOTR and NARNIA and don't really consider SUPERMAN a "fantasy." So maybe I should've said, "When was the last time I had a great fantasy film..."
Posted by Mike at June 28, 2006 4:43 AM
comment #12
Colin says ...
Hmm...last great fantasy movie that popped into my head is Spirited Away. I liked Big Fish better than most, but I'm not sure I would call it great. I would call Donnie Darko great, but I'm not sure if I'd call it a fanstasy film.
Posted by Colin at June 28, 2006 6:20 AM
comment #13
David Dunn says ...
Unbreakable was his best movie by far, and it's my one of my favorite movies.
I'm glad to hear Lady In the Water may actually be as good as Unbreakable, as I'm really looking forward to it. I liked most of Shyamalan's movies, except for the Village.
Posted by David Dunn at June 28, 2006 6:53 AM
comment #14
Josh Massey says ...
I loved "Signs." LOVED it.
There, I said it.
("The Village" was utter crap, though).
Posted by Josh Massey at June 28, 2006 7:01 AM
comment #15
Alexander says ...
Shyamalan's Sixth Sense-to-Signs films were all at least interesting, if differing in quality. The Village was indeed utter crap.
The trailer for Lady makes me think we're getting mroe pretentious crap. "Is man worth saving?" Come on, this looks like Shyamalan's most pretentious flick yet and that's saying a lot.
Posted by Alexander at June 28, 2006 9:19 AM
comment #16
delbomber says ...
Insidah...are your trying for irony, or did it just come out that way?
"He came across as the most ridiculously egotistical person. My similarly Ivy League educated friends..."
Posted by delbomber at June 28, 2006 6:43 PM