06 September 2011

Tuesday Cap - Vol. 32


Title: The Village

Notes: If you feel the need to riff on Shyamalan, go right ahead. Lord knows I did it after THE LAST AIRBENDER ended. But THE VILLAGE is a weird movie. On one hand, I am genuinely pissed that we didn't get a proper creature feature. That's what the trailer made it out to be, that's what it damn well shoulda been. And Mr. Phoenix looked just stoned or utterly bored the entire time, sorta like how James Franco looks like these days. Bryce did an amazing job, also worth noting. And this scene, pictured above, freaks me the shit out. Honestly. M. Night shot this scene spectacularly. I turn cold, chills crawl up me spine, and I'm glued to the screen. I also think this is the first time I ever got freaked out by an creature in daylight, so M. Night deserves kudos for that alone. On the other hand, it is a pretty shitty movie. When the big reveal is...revealed, and the credits roll and the audience is allowed to think about the whole flick - well, it doesn't hold up. The kinda badish but weirdly believable Howard/Phoenix romance is nice and all, but still...very meh. Actually, the whole movie is meh. And this is also one of the first instances where M. Night's signature one shots actually work to the films detriment. Right now the scene where William Hurt is talking to the schoolchildren or whoever about these skinned animals on the floor springs to mind - it's excruciating to watch because the entire time I'm mentally yelling at M. Night to cut to a different shot to make Hurt sound better! So all in all, THE VILLAGE is a mixed bag for me. Surprisingly I still find myself throwing it in the DVD player, perhaps out of genuine likeness to it or morbid curiosity, I dunno. But I'll still never buy THE HAPPENING.

General thoughts on THE VILLAGE?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Y'know, I actually enjoyed... um, ok I think appreciate is a better word, when I first saw this. It's been a while but I thought it was a pretty decent thriller and I like the performances, esp. Joaquin's. But I don't know how I'd feel about it now if I see it again. The one movie I'll always respect M. Night for is Unbreakable. That one holds up real well after repeated viewings.