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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 6, 2005 21:58:27 GMT -6
The Princess and I rented M. Night Shama-lama-ding-dong's (or whatever the fuck his name is) flick "The Village" and I thought it was great. Full review soon come.
This movie got some lousy reviews, but I blame that on the coming attractions. Those previews would have you believe it was a horror movie, which it ain't. It's a taught psychological drama about paranoia and manipulation and the demons that shape our lives, both internal and external, and on that level I loved it. What did you all think?....Jake
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Post by Hazelita on Feb 7, 2005 6:34:50 GMT -6
OH MY GAWD! What a great flick. I had also heard that it received terrible reviews. What the hell do critics know anyway? Aren't they all just frustrated actor-wannabes?
Like Jake, I was expecting this to be a horror film. That Shaymalan (sp?) ... what a friggin' genius! It ends up being a story of how a whole entire village can be psychologically controlled with the use of fear and deception. To escape a world of crime and unspeakable pain and suffering these folks form a settlement in the woods away from all the things of modern man. They believe there are creatures and monsters all around them, waiting to devour them if they should leave the safety of their village. What a crock! The town founders make up the whole bullshit to keep their citizens from wandering back to the "real world" where they will undoubtedly be harmed. What they fail to realize is that sinners are everywhere and evil lives in the heart of every man. You can run but you can't escape your humanity.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Feb 8, 2005 2:00:23 GMT -6
Here is the full review that I posted at the Thursday Night Movie Club website:
m. night shyamalan’s “the village” (joaquin phoenix, bryce dallas howard, adrien brody, william hurt, sigourney weaver, and brendan gleeson). another brilliant and thoughtful flick from the pennsylvania punjab. if you believed the previews of coming attractions, you would probably expect this to be a horror movie, and would go home disappointed. but if you go in with no preconceived notions, you will find yourself watching a deep, multi-layered, taut psychological drama about how we are all controlled by the demons inside of us as well as those outside of us, and the paranoia and manipulation that result. it is all played to the cadence of shyamalan’s stilted, stylized dialogue, which the actors deliver with perfection. basically, a brooding young man and a gutsy blind chick challenge the conventions of an isolated village, whose lives and choices are shaped by the unseen monsters that surround them... or do they? I loved it.
P.S. - you gotta love a movie that has an actual and bona-fide "village idiot"!! (played by adrien brody)
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Post by leftear on Feb 10, 2005 23:11:15 GMT -6
I watched the movie in the theatre and at first I was like "what? you gotta be kidding me! This movie was the biggest pile of crap, what's with all the hype?" Even side comments that I heard from people led me to believe the general public thought it sucked, it was lame!
While leaving all the media hype aside, I went and bought the movie and watched it again. I do like the movie and would watch it again with a friend. Anyone who hasn't seen it yet, don't believe the hype. It really IS NOT "the scariest movie of 2004," but it does have a very interesting, different twist at the end. The description that Hazel and Jake gave of the movie is on the money, can't describe it any better.
Chris
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