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JoBlo and The Man at the Rear Window takes a look at the UNBREAKABLE Premiere!!!
Hey folks, Harry here with a complete SPOILER FREE review of UNBREAKABLE, from the Premiere in New York last night.... Very cool... I see this film next week, and I'm giddy. I have... thus far defeated the spoiler demons.... I know basically nothing other than Moriarty doesn't like the ending as written in the script.... so basically I think the trailer is awesome, and that the official site looks cool...
Hey Harry, just came back from watching Unbreakable and spotting celebs at the NYC Premiere. To begin the evening M. Night Shyamalan got in front of the audience and gave a little spiel thanking the studio for granting him artistic freedom and for his great crew and recognizing both Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson, who received warm applause from the audience upon their introduction.
So where to begin, this is a very ambitious project considering it is along the same vein as The Sixth Sense and will undoubtedly draw comparisons. However, in many ways this is a much better film. The overall craft of the film is superior to the Sixth Sense. The camera work and direction are exquisite. We are treated to multiple long takes with very creative shots moving back and forth between the two principals on screen. In a way, the creativity of the actual filming was reminiscent of Hitchcock. While most new filmmakers today seem to concentrate on filming techniques with editing in mind, it was refreshing to experience more traditional creativity in filming with careful attention paid to actual telling the story.
Additionally, the story line is much more interesting and very well paced, allowing the viewer to really immerse themselves in the film and in the gradual unfolding of the story line.
As far as the ending (don't worry, no spoilers) the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned. It seemed a bit abrupt at the time, but seems to be settling in just right as I think about it. We'll see how it feels when it released next Wednesday.
Overall, it works and is very interesting and entertaining to watch. It may not knock your socks off like The Sixth Sense, but it slowly peels them off with a surprising tug at the end. More than anything, it marks the arrival of M. Night as something other than a one hit wonder and even prompts me to hopefully remark that we are just beginning to see what Mr. Shyamalan will offer us in the future, for if his next films are as well made as this one, they can only get better.
The Man At The Rear WindowAnd here is JoBlo's review.... and it seems he thinks quite highly of the film.... Here ya go...
Here it is, dude...a SPOILER-FREE review of UNBREAKABLE! I tried my darndest
to make sure that I didn't mention anything incriminating to the mystery
that is this great film in my review, and I believe I have succeeded. And
yup, it's true....the less you know, the better!! I knew dick and loved it.
Have a blast, Tiger...
JoBlo
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UNBREAKABLE
RATING: 8/10 --> Great movie
You gotta hand it to M. Night Shyamalan. The man practically came out of
nowhere and suddenly he's written and directed two of the most memorable
movies of the past two years. First THE SIXTH SENSE (8/10), which blew
everyone away with its ending and its unbelievable box-office success, and
now this movie, whose trailer is easily the best teaser for any movie that
I've seen over the past year. It's mysterious, it's intriguing and it makes
you want to see the movie. Excellent! And with that in mind, I will be
writing this review knowing full well that nobody wants any of the film
ruined for them, so I assure you that I will not be including any spoilers
about the movie's plot in this critique. I just love a good mystery and sure
wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone else.
PLOT:
Set in Philadelphia, this film stars two diametrically opposed men. One man
is black and has a disease which makes his bones very easy to break. The
other man is white and seems to be unbreakable. He is the only survivor of a
train wreck and can't seem to figure out why. The first man helps the second
man come to some kind of understanding about his situation.
CRITIQUE:
M. Night Shyamalan continues to impress. Here's yet another original
creation of his that manages to successfully slap together a unique mystery,
interesting characters, real life situations to which we could all relate
and a touch of the paranormal. I love this guy! I hope he keeps it up
because more movies like this is what we need. Of course, much like any
other great film, this one is not for everybody. The film does have quite
the slow pace, might come off as repetitive to some people and also manages
to parallel THE SIXTH SENSE in various ways. But for me, I was
hooked-lined-and-sinkered from its first two scenes, which much like the
film's teaser trailer, just made me sit up and say, "What's up with that?
Intriguing...now tell me more." The sequences in question basically set up
the foundation of the two main characters in this film, and let me tell you,
they grabbed me and that was that. I couldn't wait to find out why they were
the way that they were, and what it all meant. But Shyamalan draws the film
out slowly. He already seems to have developed a great eye for the camera,
setting up angles just right, enough to give us a taste of the scene, but
not the whole bite. There are also little hints dropped here and there, red
herrings and a Hitchcockian score providing just enough background to allow
for a gradual development of the richer points in the script. Like
Hitchcock, Shyamalan also seems to be finding himself a small part in his
own films. Here, he shows up as a suspicious "drug dealer" at a sports
stadium.
But don't expect a horror with this film. That's not what it is. It's not a
thriller either. No major "thrill" scenes in this movie. In fact, it isn't
until the last twenty minutes that the film's leisurely pace is disturbed by
some invigorating energy. I would consider this picture to be more like a
good ol' fashioned mystery a la Twilight Zone. Set in an ordinary
environment with believable characters, this film manages to creep us out
with elements which just don't seem to make sense in our reality. Of course,
much like any other good story, this film would not be a complete success
unless we connected to the characters on the screen, and in this movie, I
did. In fact, we could all relate to what Bruce's character is essentially
going through. He doesn't understand his place in the world. He is confused.
He is not sure why he is what he is. What is his destiny? We've all felt
like him at some point or another in our lives and you learn to recognize
that in his character early on.
Bruce downplayed his character as much as he did the one in THE SIXTH SENSE
(almost seemed like the same guy but in a different circumstance), while Sam
Jackson was surprisingly restrained as the bizarre dude with the love of
comic books. And as for the ending...don't worry I won't be giving anything
away here, but suffice it to say that unlike THE SIXTH SENSE, a movie which
I believed was taken to another level with that slap-in-your-face
conclusion, this film's finish felt much more like a "Hmmmmm, yeah okay,
that makes sense" kind of thing. Of course, some might scoff at the ending,
but that all depends on whether or not you were "into" the film as it moved
along. It certainly didn't make or break the movie for me, and I doubt it
will blow anyone else away either. This film is not about the ending
necessarily. It is about the journey, a journey that is deliberately
unhurried, melancholic and intriguing. My guess is that anyone who was
greatly interested in this film by its teaser, will more than likely be
impressed with this film's brilliant manner of storytelling. It looks like
Shyamalan is here to stay. Of course, once the movie is over, and this seems
to be developing into a very cool Shyamalan tradition, you will undoubtedly
feel the need to discuss the film with others. It's engaging, it's
mysterious, perhaps even unbelievable to the more cynical in our society,
but ultimately the film is an excellent demonstration of what a great
director, a solid script, a deeper, meaningful message and well crafted
characters can bring to a theatrical presentation as such. For me, the film
worked on various levels and I hope that many others like it just as much.
That's it and I hope I didn't spoil anything for you...that's half the fun!
JoBlo
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+ Expand All
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First. I hope.
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Is there some allegation up there that Hitchcock had no mid for the edits has he prepped his movies? Don't be so patently ridiculous. Don't you see how his famed lust for storyboards relates to edits too?
Shocking. It's not bloody hard to see. Or maybe you just don't know what editing actually is? Or for that matter, anything much about how to properly conceive, plan and realise a film? -
I must say, when I saw the trailers and TV spots for sixth sense, I didn't think it seemed to be all that. I waited until it came out on video to see it, and I had to admit that I relly liked it (it's one of those movies you want to watch several times, just to check for all the clues and stuff). I feelpretty much the same about the Unbreakable trailer, but I'll probably see it since Sixth Sense was such a positive surprise for me.
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Nov 15, 2000 5:01:41 AM CST
I am not sure on what is Scarier this Thanksgiving??? THE GRINCH
by geekbasher 3.0
But honey, with that Just Fucked look on Mr. Jackson's dippity doo, I will gladly shell out my hard earn dollars for This one instead of The Grinch...( that I will sneak into!)
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...for me anyway. I wouldn't call it *scary*, but creepy? Definitely. Sorry, but I got chills when the kid's breath appears (you know the ghosts are coming), during the shot of the thermostat dropping in temperature, the kid with the back of his head blown open just walking into the frame and into the bedroom. I had a great time with Sixth Sense, I proudly own it on DVD, and I can't wait to see M.'s follow-up. On a side note, I will say that Stir of Echoes was a film that was not only creepy but damn scary as well. Many, many disturbing, scary scenes in that film for me. In fact, the scene where Kevin Bacon's character leans forward, turns on the TV, then leans back on the couch only to see the ghost sitting next to him ranks as the #1 scene scare for me. I usually don't jump at scenes, but I was caught so off-guard during that moment that I damn near went through the ceiling. And his kid's voice changing to that really low voice when Bacon's talking to him? Yikes. Well, to each their own. McFly<--
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And no, Eisenstein is not the relativity guy with the frizzy hair . . . "In a way, the creativity of the actual filming was reminiscent of Hitchcock. While most new filmmakers today seem to concentrate on filming techniques with editing in mind, it was refreshing to experience more traditional creativity in filming with careful attention paid to actual telling the story." So editing is neither "traditional" nor related to the "actual telling of the story." God. GOD. I fucking give up. You win.
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Sixth Sense was a good movie overall, but the not-as-advertised-or-touted Stir of Echoes with Kevin Bacon was MUCH better. Unfortunately, it was in and out of the theatres in a flash. Hell, it even had a kid who could see dead people in it!
Can't wait to see Unbreakable. www.areyouunbreakable.com is a really nifty site - they have all sorts of fun background information. -
Will Unbreakable be unbreakable at the box office? Will the film do as well as the Sixth Sence? Answer: Who cares...
This film caught my attention the first time I saw the trailor in the theater. I am looking forward to this film and I don't think that The Sixth Sence should come into this. I enjoy that film very much too. But lets leave Apples with Apples and Oranges with Oranges..
thanks,
-dash101 out -
It didn't catch me off guard as much as the Sixth Sense did. And as far as which movie's better, well that's a matter of personal opinion I guess. I loved 'em both, although Sixth Sesne had a longer lasting effect on me.
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Does anyone happen to know who shot Unbreakable? I think that Tak Fujimoto did and incredibly beautiful job with the Sixth Sense and if he shot this as well I'm there on opening night.
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STir of Echos was decent for the first half or so but then it degenerated into whodoneit flick. I want more supernatural and not so much of the 'don't go into the house' stuff. Very cliche. Theyeven had the wife (who has blossomed nicely since What About Bob?) taking a bath w/ spirits running around. Then she investigates a bizarre noise in the fucking basement? WHy don't they just have her get implants and walk around topless the whole time?Nowhere near the intelligence of 6th Sense.
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According to the IMDb, UNBREAKABLE was shot by Eduardo Serra, who previously did such costume dramas as JUDE, THE WINGS OF THE DOVE and LA VEUVE DE SAINT-PIERRE, as well as the color extravaganza known as WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. In other words, UNBREAKABLE is going to be eye candy!
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I'm a great admirer of this director. He can write and he can direct, and can do it good. I will see Unbreakable in the cinema because I was ignorant enough to ignore The Sixth Sense even after it was so well received. Then by the time I did see it I knew the twist. I wont let that happen this time round. Further more I think it's great that an Asian film-maker makes it through to the big league. As an Asian myself, aspiring to make movies also, it's a great boost.
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First of all, the teaser for this film was great. One of the best in recent memory. And it looks like Sam L. isn't goin to get really angry and start shoutin and cussin in this film which should be a treat because the guy can act. Lookin forward to this one.
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Please leave all attempts at humor to those who have an aptitude for it. The last thing these talkbacks need are a third-rate Ted Casablanca, especially when the first-rate model is already so thoroughly annoying.
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Hey Rip,
Don't let the self-appointed critics get you down. Your observations were a hoot. -
The 2 arse-wipe reviewers shoulda adressed this problem......
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Rally now, micbean. Self-appointed? Impeccable taste appoints me, you fool! Please, re-attach your studded collar to the Ripper's leash and continue his bidding. Your opinion on this board is null and void.
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Here's a vote FOR reviews like these two, that give some description and opinion without too much exposition. And I wish I could vote AGAINST those "gotcha" endings, but look what great movies have had them lately: 6th Sense, Fight Club, even Magnoila, American Beauty... I love movie scoops but it's hard not to get overprepared when you read/hear the promo stuff. But it's a lot easier to avoid spoilers than it is to avoid trailers that show you the whole movie. Is it just me or is this enough bitchin'.
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1) Willis is a robot and Jackson is a puppet. 2)It was all a dream. 3) Vader was their father. 4) Interracial homoerotic sex scene. 5) Willis' character nothing but a comic book character after all. 6)A split personality. 7)A car chase and kickboxing for a better tommorow. 8) Mr. Orange is a cop. 9) Ebert never saw the shockeroo ending because he had to make one final swoop on the snackbar. 10) Willis actually died in the first scene....Pick your favorite.
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11. Bruce Willis is Keyzer Sozay and Sma Jackson's Mum is really the other half of his split personality, and they would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those pesky kids.
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