Anybody else see "Lady in the Water"?

gravertom

gravertom

Joined
Jun 4, 2004
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1,163
It was not much like the trailer I saw.

The reviews were very mixed, But I loved it. A very moving story, with no gore, and only one scary wolf.

No sex, or bad language that I recall either.

I reminds me of Tolkiens' "Smith of Wooten Major", in a way, although the stories are very different. Just the fairy tale aspect, I guess.

maybe it helped that I am unfamiliar with any of the actors, or the director, or any of his previous work.

It was really not a horror movie. I think it may become one of my favorites.

Tom
 
The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, & The Village are all previous M. Night Shyamalan movies.

I have not seen any previews, since I do not really watch tv- but I might have to rent it.
 
The only reason I went was because my wife and kids are visiting my sister in law this week. I checked out the trailer on line.

I seldom watch TV, or go to the movies, except to see a few favorites, like LOTR, and Star wars. I did see the Narnia movie too, while my car was getting work done on it.

Tom
 
gravertom said:
It was not much like the trailer I saw.

A very moving story, with:
- no gore,
- only one scary wolf.
- No sex, or bad language.
- not a horror movie.
Click to expand...

It sounds like it has all the makings of a major box office flop.

n2s
 
I'll just add that the right title, "lady in the lake' was taken years ago. So ...lady in the water? What's that? Lady in the bathtub? Lady in the wading pool? Huh?


munk
 
There was a great twilight zone episode (1950s BW series) that covered the same ground. IIRC a family is undergoing a divorce, and the parents ask their two children to decide which parent they would rather go with. The kids are left to mull it over in their swimming pool and they are joined by a mysterious third kid who looks like alot like Tom Sawyer. He tells them there is a door hidden in the bottom of their swimming pool and soon the kids are off to discover a whole new world.

n2s
 
The "Village" was just sad . It seemed like a movie that was edited to death .
Sixth sense was very good .

It seems like these are written by a man stuck between myth , fairy tale and horror film . A scary place to write from .
 
Sixth Sense = Good
Unbreakable = Outstanding. One of my favorite movies by far. Extremely well done both from the point of the storyline (what a concept!) to the fact that it's still technically a cliffhanger: you're left with the impression that the superhero/supervillain idea is valid here but you're never really sure, as neither the protagonist nor the antagonists actually do anything truly unbelievable.
Signs = Bad. Very, very bad. Bad, as in when the topic of bad movies comes up, I always mention this one. Everything from the plot to the cinematography was bad. It was flawed from the top down. I'm still a bit confused as to why it was even released.
The Village = Pretty bad, but not quite as bad. (Watching a blind girl fumble through the woods for twenty minutes is just painful. Dramatic? Possibly, but painful nonetheless.) Pretty bad though, and not at all surprising despite the effort at a surprise ending.

Once bitten, twice shy. I'm waiting for it to come out on video.
 
I liked Signs and 6th sense the most. Unbreakable wasn't bad but i didn't think it was anything great. I didn't even bother to watch the village.

Different strokes for different folks......:)
 
I'm with Dave on Unbreakable. It's one of my favorite movies and was supposed to be a trilogy, but apparently didn't do well enough in the box office for the sequels to be made. On the dvd they have an out take where Bruce goes to the University gym and benches 400 or 500lbs when he thinks no one is looking, but the football players notice and are very impressed!

Of course, I really like Meet Joe Black too, it just hit a cord with me. No one else seems to get the movie. I had always liked Death takes a Holiday when I was a kid and it's basically a remake, but better. IMHO at least.
 
Just saw it today. I absolutely loved it!

A very different movie from his others. I completely agree with what Gravertom said. Very moving story, very genuine cast (especially Giamatti - wow!), and a great plot. I mean, a new fairy tale that is directly compatible with the modern world that I didn't find cheesy or at all too light. Just great, good, honest movie. Great message and I felt great when I got out. It's been a long time since I saw a movie that good, and I'm a confirmed movie man. I'll definitely buy this one on DVD when it comes out!

To doubters: I was completely skeptical, but it changed my mind and captivated me completely. Really worth it.

Oh, and Munk, she comes from an apartment complex swimming pool, not a lake. Original for a serious fairy tale, huh? :)

Chris
 
"Signs" was pathetic, and "The Village" was far, far worse.

I was hesitant to go see "Lady in the Water," but I'm glad I did after seeing it.

It had a lot of strikes against it. M Night Shyamalan's ego is among them. It's ginormous even among pretentious Hollywood types. The basic premise for the story was sappy and hackneyed.

But ...

The dialog was superb.
The performances were outstanding.
The casting was some of the best I've ever seen in a movie.

As an overall package, it has a lot to offer as a movie that everyone can see. I'll watch it again on DVD when it hits the stores.
 
Signs, frankly, sucked. I didn't bother with The Village.

Unbreakable, as has been mentioned, is an excellent movie. Great storyline, good actors. Well done.

Thanks for the heads-up.

John
 
Signs was just plain terrible. The only reason they released it was to make money off the fact it had Mel gibson as a star.

Village was slow and boring and again, no surprises.

Unbreakable was ok, but it could have been better.

Sixth sense was pretty decent, but every movie he made after that, came with all too predictable twists. (everyone expects the "twists" in his movies now.)
 
I saw it over the weekend, and I really liked it. However, it could have used another trip through the type-writer to shore it up. In reality, this was a movie made by a writer for writers. It was a little muddled without really driving home a concrete point. However, I really, really, really liked the fact that it was writen as a bed time story. I love how the characters just accept things...fantanstic things. No one questions why, because in a fairy tale things just are:) The casting was great. Not a lot of big name stars, but they fit together very well. However, like most people that reviewed the film, I found Night's character...well, you'll see.

All said and done, I enjoyed this movie. Personally, my M. Night ranking goes: 6th Sense, Signs (based purely on the casting regardless of however ridiculously stupid the aliens were), Unbreakable (Once again, casting. Didn't like it when i first watched it because it wasn't the 6th Sense. Much better the second time:)), The Village (weak twist, weak story, just a flat out bleh movie). Lady In the Water is somewhere in the middle there. While it had a lot of flaws, I have to give props to Night for making something ORIGINAL. Goodness, I am so sick to death of remakes, rehashes, watered-down teenybopper horror flicks (i.e. NOT horror), sequels, and comic book movies (I'm talking the ones that are total cash-ins.). Night's movie had a whimsy feel to it. I grew to like the characters a great deal. Actually, I enjoyed this movie more than the snooze fest that was Superman Returns. Flame away, comic book guys, but Superman is a boring character. Also, someone needs to tell Singer, the director, that teen-age angst is sooooo 1994:p I have no idea where the ball was dropped on that flick. He obviously knows comic books as the X-Men films were very entertaining.
Since this is turning into Steely's Summer Review Thread....I enjoyed Pirates a great deal....Arrrrrgh!;)

Jake
 
Steely_Gunz said:
I enjoyed this movie more than the snooze fest that was Superman Returns.
Jake
Click to expand...

I can't review Superman Returns, becuase I actually fell asleep in the middle of it; then woke up an hour later and didn't realize I had slept that long (nothing had change - the plot was still in suspended animation while the screen was flooded with CGI garbage. Zzzzzzz). What happened?.....nothing. I would put Superman Returns up there with ISHTAR.

I would rate Six Sense and Unbreakable as his best; never did see Signs, and my dog ate The Village (now how did he manage to get ahold of that one?????)

n2s
 
Ok, I just got back from the theatre and while it was very good, I preferred Unbreakable. Just my humble opinion.
 
You know I really liked " Sixth Sense " .
I did not really get the style of "Unbreakable" at all .
Is it possible the style is an acquired taste ?
It could be like picking up a book in the middle of a series . You could read it and enjoy it . You just won,t get everything about it .
 
I have seen NONE of the above mentioned movies....I have seen enough real horror in my life, not to pick horror films (or anything smells like horror) for my entertainment. I like movies where the grandkids are draped over every soft thing in the living room (guess that includes me), spilling popcorn, etc. to be vacuumed up tomorrow. A perfect film would be to have a grandkid up under each arm, with another hanging over my ankles, all cheering the hero of a kid movie. Smiles all around.
 
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