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Pendragon Shatters UNBREAKABLE!!
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Here's someone who was moved to write in regarding UNBREAKABLE after seeing the praise some early reviewers are heaping on it. Interesting counterpoint to what we've already heard, and he makes his points well. Here's PENDRAGON, and he's well worth a read...
In light of Darth Siskel's unaccountable rave, I felt I had to send this in. I caught a press screening of UNBREAKABLE this past weekend in Manhattan,
based on which I feel I should do everything in my power to stop people from seeing this flick. The movie has a couple high points, but the depths to which it sinks are... well, pretty deep. Here's a review; I'd be honored if you'd post it. Call me PENDRAGON, unless someone else has already grabbed that moniker.
UNBREAKBLE reunites THE SIXTH SENSE's writer/director, M. Night
Shamalyan, and star, Bruce Willis, with the city of Philadelphia. Like its
blockbuster supernatural predecessor, this new film navigates a foreboding and starkly lit Pennsylvanian environment, highlighted by moody camera angles and
slow, atmospheric performances from a capable cast. As in SIXTH SENSE, Willis
plays a troubled but supportive father figure to a precocious, nervous boy, and perhaps the little tyke in UNBREAKABLE will be Haley Joel Osmond's successor in the mature-yet-piercingly-cute-child-actor Oscar category. Where SIXTH SENSE mined the border between life and death for its thematic material, UNBREAKABLE focuses on the contrasts between human nature at its weakest and at its most invincible. But where SIXTH SENSE matched morbid material with an appropriately dark tone, UNBREAKABLE flails unevenly, wasting portentious symbolism on a wafer-thin, awkward storyline.
Willis plays a security guard at a stadium in Philadelphia; he is
estranged from but apparently still in love with wife Robin Wright Penn. Their
troubled child is a continuing concern to the parents. Willis' involvement in a major accident brings issues of his health and strength to the forefront, and a physically weak character played by Samuel L. Jackson presents Willis with a unique and shocking interpretation of Willis' physical condition - Willis may be a comic-book-worthy superhero.
Despite several powerful, crafty scenes involving the son's or Jackson's attempts to spur Willis to heroism, the evolution of Willis' pivotal character is a belabored, redundant and aggravating process. Willis has flashes of intuition - reminiscent of conceits from the Dead Zone, the Shining, and many other paranormal-themed celluloid extravaganzas - which reveal the sins of the people around him, but despite the fact that this talent is never explained and its sudden appearance in his life is never justified, we must endure Willis flashing noisily into the past lives of countless irrelevant characters before he finally, in the last quarter of the movie, decides to act on an intuitive flash (and even then, though the crime being punished is a heinous one, the justice meted out and Willis' technique of delivering it are extremely disappointing.) The audience is continually tempted to root for Willis' character; I was silently pleading with him to metamorphose into a hero as swiftly and decisively as Batman, Superman, or even Spawn do in the their respective cinematic incarnations. But Willis is reluctant and ponderous, and Shamalyan seems unexcited about the very primal human abilities with which Jackson's character is so fascinated. In terms of energy and pacing, this film never emerges from the starting gate, but rather plods along listlessly, hinting at great potential while squandering it with useless dialogue and largely uninspired situations.
The inherent tensions, between sports and therapy, strength and brittleness,
father and son, husband and wife, are rich with promise. The smallest roles
are perhaps the most watchable and memorable, and demonstrate Shamalyan's deft touch with idiosyncratic aspects of human nature. The babysitter, the son, the young Jackson, Willis' seatmate on the train, even the office secretary at the stadium glow with vital individuality. I wish we could have seen more of each of these characters, and less of the stars. Robin Wright Penn is fine but uninteresting, Bruce Willis is neither better nor worse than in the Sixth Sense, and Jackson does little of note with an unremarkable role. Sparse moments of humor work well.
The dialogue is weak and predictable. Jackson's character is intriguing
as a youth but degenerates to cardboard one-dimensionality as an adult. Like
in the Sixth Sense there is a surprise ending (it almost feels obligatory, as
if Shamalyan is defending his legacy), and as in Sixth Sense the writer/director/producer makes a cameo appearance (look for him in a stadium scene). Despite the intriguing nature of the surprise ending, the final moments of the film and the message they send about the characters is so abrupt and totally bewildering that Unbreakable's ending ranks among the absolute worst and least coherent of all time; even those in the audience who seemed engaged by the rest of this movie were thrown by the conclusion, which inspired nervous giggles and audible complaints. The ending could only be seen as appropriate if the rest of the movie were intentionally farcical, inane, and sophomoric, which, despite other detractions, it is not. The confusing final moments jar horribly with the rest of the film's tone.
The influence of directors David Fincher, Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock on Shamalyan's form is obvious, and some borrowed techniques seem intended as homage to one of these directors (as in an early scene where a
camera eavesdrops on a conversation from behind a seat), but at other times, Shamalyan's work stinks of shameless imitation. I hope that the writer/director is punished at the box office and in studio circles for this botched opportunity, and that he learns from his errors. It's embarrassing that a creative talent capable of THE SIXTH SENSE has chosen to follow up that work with such an utter waste of resources and time.
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i'm first... i know it's lame to say i'm first but hey i wanted to say it once... anyway i thinkt his movie is going to rock and this pendragon has no clue what he's talking about... despite all the good reviews for this film i think it's going to rock.. why despite? cause usually every film roger ebert likes.. i hate
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Pendragon, you're not bitter are you? Anyhoo, I respect your opinion, but I have to agree with Deacon, in that despite the hinted at crappy ending, it should still be pretty cool. Shyamalan, I have faith in ya' baby!! Oh yeah, and BC for president baby!!!
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It's about time somebody else ragged on "Unbreakable". I haven't seen the film, but the script sucked donkey balls...nothing new and nothing as cool as in the "6th Sense". It's predictable, bland, and, overall, is almost tounge in cheek. I think M. Night is a one trick pony...not that I wouldn't tread water for the mad cash he's going to RAKE in.
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I saw the sixth sense and in the first 5 minutes when Bruce Willis gets shot I said to myself that he was dead and that this better not be a ghost movie where he finds out he's a ghost and the movie played out that way. I figured that out from the trailers where the kid says "I see dead people". So I was flabbergasted when everybody was so suprised when he was a ghost, sort of how like anakin looked when he found out that the handservant and Princess Amidala where one and the same. Duh! And I don't know why everyone said 6th sense was so good, Shymalan basically ripped off a old twilight zone episode! You ever see the episode where a mannaquin in a dept store comes back to the dept store and finds out that she doesn't really have a life and that she's a mannaquin? insert ghost for mannaquin and you see this guy isn't very original. Sixth sense also pissed me off cause the whole movie was made to fool the audience not to tell a story. How come Bruce willis wasn't bleeding when every other ghost was puking or had a whole in their head? How did he get the info on the kid in the beginning? He had magic ghost paper and dossiers or something? out of all the billions of people who died throughout history how come the kid only see like ten? There should be ghosts that overlap each other. There should be millions of ghosts but the kid sees like 2 a day. And that kid can't act either, all he does is whisper, what a little pervert. I'd hate to be on the other end of then phone when that kid calls. Shymalan basically set up scenes to fool the audience like the scene where Willis is in the living room not talkign to the kid's mom. How come he doesn't try to talk to her? and when he doesn't get a response shouldn't he be freaked out? Shymalan basically makes his own rules like "ghosts believe what they want to believe" and "ghosts wear the same clothes they wore when they died in that 24 hour period" which is fucking ludicrous! Ghosts wear fucking cotton blends? is it magic apparel? everybody knows ghosts, if there really are ghosts, are butt naked! I just can't believe people are really that gullible. 6th sense never made any sense and never even used it's own internal logic. Seven was scary beacuase that shit could happen sixth sense is garbage and so is shymalan.
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You the man. The 6th Sense was dull, predictable junk that pandered to the worst middle-class instincts this country has to offer. It's the sort of thing Hollywood offers when it wants to think it's being spiritual or though-provoking. Anyone who was suprised by the ending has obviosuly never seen a supernatural movie, read a supernatural novel, or thumbed through a comic book for that matter. Rock on.
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Just got back from the screening of UNBREAKABLES and, overall, I was disappointed.
The highly anticipated surprise ending bit the dust and, yes, it was totally out of place. I felt cheated. It ruined the whole movie for me.
The main characters I thought were far too predictable, and Robin Right Penn's character - dull.
There was some characters with small parts that had charm and that I, too would have like to see more of - the babysitter, for example. How funny that they let her walk home in the rain? Great comic relief.
But not all the comic relief was good, or rather, fitting. For example, when they're in the kitchen and the kid has the gun. This is an intense moment, and will I enjoyed Bruce and Robin's lighthearted commentary, it did nothing to intensify the scene. David Dunn's life is at stake here -- this is intense. I think the joking hear cheapened the scene.
I will say that the actual filming was excellent. There was that mirrored shot in the beginning when Elijah was born, the between the bucket seats shot on the train, and the rotating angle on comic book shot. These were all fantastic, but unfortunately I can't look beyond that damn ending.
Perhaps Shyamalayan would have withheld his legacy as being the great surpriser, if he didn't put so much emphasis on the great surprise? -
Great post Crouchingtiger. I enjoyed sixth sense but I had some great laughs at the points you raised. I remember that TZ episode too (far more creepy than the sixth sense IMHO). I too guessed the ending partway through the movie but forgetting for a moment I was sitting in a room full of my mates and our girlfriends I called triumphantly called out "He's dead!!". Some dirty looks there.
Never thought about it deeply enough to consider the naked ghosts - "I see dead people - the old ladies are the worst." -
There arent billions of dead people walking around because when they get what they want they leave.There have probably been other people who could see dead people throughout history.Plus why is it so logical that ghosts are naked when they die.Ive never seen a movie in which that happened.How dull would movies be if they conformed to what everyone thought and coudnt make up their own rules?Why do you start hating a movie at the beginning just because you think you know the ending and not try to enjoy the rest of it?damned dirty ape
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Nov 15, 2000 11:45:58 PM CST
Hallelujah Pendragon! At last someone exposes this movie for the
by junior d-girl
Having read this script I completely agree. It is utter trash, not worth the paper it's printed on let alone the $5Million Night received for it plus another $5Million to direct it! Had this been written by an unknown writer it would've been rejected instantly by even the lowest-level reader at any studio but because it's M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN it was OH MY GOD HE DID THE SIXTH SENSE SO WE HAVE TO PAY HIM $10MILL FOR THIS ONE! What a joke and what a waste of time and money. This script is more suited to a straight to video release or a bad cable movie. Night is lucky Sixth Sense was a hit that's the ONLY REASON this sold and got made with Bruce and Sam. Disney exex should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves for paying him so much for so little. Disgraceful. Ciao.
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I have not seen Unbreakable, but Pendragon's review was one of the best I've seen on the site. Very intelligently written.
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Nov 16, 2000 12:22:28 AM CST
As the only person on Earth who saw THE SIXTH SENSE and didn't g
by buzz maverik
...I sneer at you wanna-be industry types (with the I.D.s like STUDIO SCROT and DEVELOPMENT LEECH) who are ragging on this movie. Why? Because industry wanna-bes only understand the movies they read about doing big box office in VARIETY. I'm not surprised that M. Night Sheboygan's movies make a lot of dough, because the last one was good. What surprises me is that he even got in at all because his movie are good.
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I rag on myself, a) to beat others who will, and 2)gotta rag on somebody. Damn this pink eye...can't see screen...
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Why does the reviewer automatically assume M. Night is copying Fincher? Jeez, it's almost as bad as the people claiming that "Avalon" copied the damn "Matrix".
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Thats not what I got from the ending, I thought that Willis WAS the boy and he was travelling through time...oh that's another film...
Who gives a crap what anyone says about Unbreakable I'm gonna see it.. -
I guess i am gonna go and sit though the whole movie and aprox. 1 minute before the end i will run out of the theater running and screaming so i miss the awfull ending. See there ya go problem solved.
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...but it remains of the most intelligent I've ever seen on this site, and that is extremely RARE. Actually, the only other one I can think of being truly excellent was a very early look at Raimi's THE GIFT from some months ago.
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I'm really looking foward to seeing Unbreakable. I took exception when I read crouchingtiger's post. Let me pull apart his post, better than he pulled apart The Sixth Sense:
"I figured that out from the trailers where the kid
says 'I see dead people'."
Mama Crouchingtiger didn't raise no fools! Nobody pulls the wool over Mama Crouchingtiger's boy.
"Sixth sense also pissed me off cause the whole
movie was made to fool the audience not to tell a story."
You could leave out the last five mintues of the movie and, according to my eight grade grammer book, you'd be still have something that contains all the elements of a story. I very entertaining and ~original~ story, especially compared to some of the stuff Hollywood is feeding us today.
"How come Bruce willis wasn't bleeding when every
other ghost was puking or had a whole in their
head?"
You answer your own question. How come Willis, or NONE OF THE OTHER GHOSTS, were freaking out about their wounds: 'They see what they want to see'.
"How did he get the info on the kid in the
beginning? He had magic ghost paper and
dossiers or something?"
How did Willis get into the basement when the door had a table in front of it which he did not see until the end when he realized that he was dead?
"There should be ghosts that overlap each
other. There should be millions of ghosts
but the kid sees like 2 a day."
First the ghosts COME TO HIM when they WANT TO TELL HIM SOMETHING, not just for the hell of it. Remember the ENTIRE LAST QUARTER OF THE FILM when the characters realize this? The dead girl he helped 'came a long way to see me'. Remember? The movie also explains that ghosts only linger when they have unfinished business. Millions of ghosts walking down the street all with unfinished business important enough to keep them from leaving? Sound silly to anyone else?
"And that kid can't act either"
I think the Academy Awards and the nomination the gave him would beg to differ.
"all he does is whisper, what a little
pervert."
Yes! This conclusively proves your bullshit proposition that the child can't act! Crouchingtiger, you are truly the Master of Reason!
"everybody knows ghosts, if there really are
ghosts, are butt naked! I just can't believe
people are really that gullible."
Jeez, even ~I~ fell for that one! Of ~couse~ ghosts are naked, crouchingtiger! I can't believe I was so gullible. You are truely a fountain of information of on ~real life~ ghosts.
"Seven was scary beacuase that shit could
happen sixth sense is garbage and so is
shymalan"
Yeah, nobody was frightened by Aliens or Nightmare on Elm Street because they couldn't have taken place either.
Basing your entire argument that the 'Sixth Sense sucks' around the last five mintues of film is, to quote you 'fucking ludicrous'.
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http://www.asinglesecond.com -
Nov 16, 2000 2:55:34 AM CST
Shining is NOT a paranormal themed celluloid extravaganza!!!
by manicdepressive
If Pendragon thinks that for The Shining maybe I have a chnace to like this film after all.
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Whether or not this review is accurate or not, it still stands as probably the best I've ever read on this site. Just look at his use of language, the coherence of his argument. Now, compare it to the usual ridiculous, vitriol-filled rant, fraught with obscenities, bad logic, ad hominem attacks (Moriarty's outrageous attack on the director of 'The Cell' immediately comes ot mind) and absurd conclusions. Fine work. Very fine work indeed.
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Whether or not this review is accurate or not, it still stands as probably the best I've ever read on this site. Just look at his use of language, the coherence of his argument. Now, compare it to the usual ridiculous, vitriol-filled rant, fraught with obscenities, bad logic, ad hominem attacks (Moriarty's outrageous attack on the director of 'The Cell' immediately comes ot mind) and absurd conclusions. Fine work. Very fine work indeed.
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Pendragon does do a good review of this movie, but with the negative reviews this movie has been getting from some people, it makes me wonder if they are walking into this movie expecting another "Sixth Sense." This movie will not be that movie and therefore should not be compared to it. I hope that the box office does not punish M. Night because Pendragon asks them to. I will go see this movie and make up my own mind about it.
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Yeah it's easy to slag off a movie but you try and come up with something original and exciting on paper and then bring it to life on screen. It's not as easy as you critics assume it to be no matter how good the last film was.
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I don't see how anyone can defend 'The Sixth Sense' as
original. Richard Matheson got there first with his novel 'A Stir of Echoes' which, by the way, is a fantastic film. Pity it died when it was released last year. If you really want to see films with logical, mindbending twists, try and catch Jacob's Ladder,The Vanshing ( Dutch original, not Hollywood remake )and Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge.
If you took out the twist ending of Sixth Sense, what do you have left? A terribly dull movie.
Still, I'm kinda looking forward to Unbreakable, it sounds interesting. -
First of all, you didn't pick apart anything. You seem mad cause I don't like your movie. Second of all, I don't understand anything you wrote, Are you scandinavian or something? and Last of all, Shymalan isn't original cause you have got to see the twilight zone episode I was talking about before. I was joking when I said ghosts are butt naked! Most everybody got that from the posts except you. Are ghosts naked? how the fuck should I know. Do you? no and shymalan doesn't either so what's up with the whole ghosts wear what they did when then died in that 24 hour period crap? they are just making this shit up. The number one reason why this movie sucks is cuase it's about ghosts! I came into thinking it was a murder mystery or something and it's fucking ghosts! Ghosts are cheap! you can do anything with ghosts. make em fly, walk through walls, turn into mashed potatoes. Ghosts are so easy, you can blame anything on them. How come we don't have a president? Oh, ghosts double-punched the votes. that explains it. Shymalan basically uses ghosts as a cop out to explain the unexplainable. I think the reason why so many people like this movie so much is that most of them believe in ghosts. Like scooby-doo and the gang say "there are no such things as ghosts!"
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Nov 16, 2000 4:27:18 PM CST
Good review, Pendragon. I just saw "Unbreakable" and... (some sp
by mr. sartre
... though I agree with you about the sophmoric nature of the ending, I enjoyed "Unbreakable." My only major gripe had to do with Willis' son. I wanted to know more about what drives him to deify and believe his father is a hero so much that he turns a gun on him. Yes, we do deify our parents at an early age, but not to that level of fanaticism. I wanted to know what was wrong with the kid. Samuel Jackson's, who plays Elijah, does a pretty good job with his role but seems to have lost the brittle emotional nature that was portrayed as a child. Is this a sign that he's gotten over his fragility? Maybe considering how callous his character comes across as at the end. But this is Willis' vehicle and he steers it well as a man bogged down with the mundane, unhappy nature of his life. Joseph Campbell (who wrote the book "Hero with 1,000 Faces" which explores Jungian mythic themes) wrote something about how the hero who doesn't live the life his heart desires lives a life of sadness. Achilles would not have been content had he remained hidden away from the Trojan War in the same way that Willis' character is not happy in his limited capacity to help others. This inner discontent with life is reflected pretty well in Willis' mundane mug. I think that his reluctancy to accept his role as a hero is natural. It essentially begs the question, "What does someone do when they find out they are basiaclly a god?" or "Does a hero embrace his heroism?" Basically, his reluctancy to accept heroism is like Peter Parker's constantly questioning whether or not he should be Spider-Man anymore. "With great power come greater responsibility." As worn as that saying is (and as worn as that Spider-Man plot is), it does have a great ring of truth to it. It's when Willis finally embraces his abilities and becomes a hero that I found myself liking the movie immensly. I wished Shaymalan would explore this idea more so I was let down slightly that we only get to witness a single heroic exploit. Stylistically, I thought the film was well compositioned and the editing mounted great deals of intensity when it needed to. I was glad to see some scenes comprised of a single continuous shot rather than cut after cut after cut. And then the ending... Should have been handled more expertly, I agree. Overall, liked "Unbreakable" a lot. One of a few bright spots in a year of cinematic mediocrity. But that's just my opinion. It has been said and I think it deems reiteration: Pendragon, well written review. I'm glad to see you didn't resort to a curse filled rant to get your point across and instead went over what you thought worked and didn't work. Though we may disagree, loads of respect to you. Take care
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Nov 16, 2000 4:51:40 PM CST
Crouchingtiger, you seem to exemplify modern man's disdain for f
by mr. sartre
Regardless of what you think of Shaymalan, there's nothing wrong with a well crafted ghost story nor is there anything wrong with a film maker making his own rules. Ghost stories have been a part of humanity since we realized the finite nature of our lives and wished there was something more to life. Ghost stories are essentially the way we delve into and explore the mysteries of death and the strange occurences surrounding the act of living. On the making your own rules part: Geroge Romero's zombies, resurrected by radiation (if memory serves right), in the three "Living Dead" movies die after being shot in the head because it kills their brain. Well, I haven't seen a dead person brought back to life by radiation, but that is the rule that Romero uses to create his tale. Lucio Fulci uses different ways to bring about his zombies, Peter Jackson used yet another different way. And when you examine the issue, different rules have been found in different areas concerning zombies. In some beliefs, zombies must be compltely dismembered and cremated to kill them. Some believe zombies are not cannablistic in nature. Each group sets up their own internal logics consistent with their belief systems or narrative drives. So, on the note of internal logic: INTERNAL LOGIC IS THE BASIS OF STORY TELLING! One cannot rely soley on our physical, real world for the etiologies/origins of phenomena. We create new rules and utilize spirits or mysticism to explain and create things. If you have a beef with this, go yell at the graves of Tolkien, Serling, C.S. Lewis, Poe, Dahl, Lovecraft, Baum, and other fantacists. You mentioned "The Twilight Zone" in some of your posts. Well, sorry to break it to you, but SERLING ALSO RELIES ON HIS OWN, INVENTED INTERNAL LOGIC TO TELL A STORY!!! Just thought I'd give my two cents.
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Yeah. what you said. But Shymalan doesn't make sense of his OWN internal Logic! How come Bruce Willis doesn't bleed? while the ghost kid has a hole in his head? he remembers getting shot? what's the deal with corporeality anyway? it just suits shymalans ends. And twilight zone you knew going into it it was going to be about the 5th dimension. Sixth sense was marketed to be like some mystery/murder thing and it was weak ass GHOSTS!
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I just want to explain my argument with what mr. Garrison of south park said about the movie Contact -> "2 hours of the movie anticipating aliens, and all we see is her lousy father!". That's how I feel about the sixth sense. The movie is not terrible like "dracula dead and loving it" terrible. But I felt cheated in the end and throughout. Phantom Menace cheated. That's my beef
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Alrighty... gotcha. I still disagree to an extent, but I see your point. Take care
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Saw Unbreakable here in Los Angeles last night. I definitely agree with the review above -- the movie was very, very disappointing. I loved The Sixth Sense and was eagerly anticipating this film all year (I even avoided the spoilers, something unusual for me), but unfortunately it just doesn't deliver. The ending, as most people are saying, really doesn't work at all. And, quite frankly, the film is rather boring... nothing happens! Really great premise, but poor execution. M. Night is definitely going to have a rude awakening once word gets out. Sure, it'll have a big opening, but it'll be lucky to do a fourth of business The Sixth Sense did.
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Dearest Crouchingtiger,
You came into the theater believing sixth sense a murder mystery? You felt tricked into seeing a ghost movie yet you insist you figured out the twist ending from watching the trailer where the kid says, "I see dead people". I suppose one of your personalities saw the trailer and one saw the movie! -
I didn't contradict myself. I saw the trailer and the kid said "I see dead people". It doesn't mean the movie has to be about ghosts. From the trailer, the kid could have been schizo or had some disease that would explain why he would say that. If you see my original post I said that after Bruce Willis got shot I said to myself "This better not be a ghost movie where he finds out he's dead and that's the suprise ending!". The thought had gone through my head in the first 5 minutes and I was HOPING that it wouldn't turn out that way, but it did. Whenever I watch a movie I like to deduce as much as possible and I run a bunch of different scenarios in my mind. It's really easy to predict some movies if you pay attention. It's a bad habit, I know, But blame all those film classes.
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I just wanted to say That I thought this movie was going to be like shawshank redemption or seven or even silence of the lambs and it was not. I never understood the reverence for this movie that everyone had. I mean it still gets my goat that In the end it was ghosts! GHOSTS! If you believe in ghosts you believe in the tooth fairy, the easter bunny, leprachuans they are all pretty much the same thing. If Bruce willis had at the end of sixth sense said "I'm a magical leprechaun here to steal your pot o' gold" everybody would be aghast at how bad the movie was. But since he was a ghost it all makes sense? don't leprechauns have have super powers like that according to leprechaun 5? It's like what the other guy said about how bad the ending of unbreakable was with roger rabbit coming out and farting at the end of the movie. Roger rabbit coming out and farting is just as far fetched as ghosts.
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you'll have to excuse my exercise of the english language in that last post...i was drunk off my ass. seriously though, how could you see the previews (where the kid says 'i see dead people') and go in thinking you were going to see a murder mystery?
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i dont know if anyone has posted the spoiler yet, if noone has here ya go: well, first let me say that i enjoyed the sixth sense, and i enjoyed unbreakable even more. most of you may or may not already know that bruce willis' character is somewhat of a superhero, and that sam jackson's character("mr. glass") is the the man who leads him to this conclusion. well, at the end of the movie it is revealed that "mr. glass" was actually the man behind the horrible train accident that left willis as the sole survivor. "mr. glass" was also involved with two other major disasters killing several innocent people. his purpose: to find someone like bruce - the exact opposite of "mr. glass". you see sam's character suffers from a rare crippling disease that with even the slightest fall causes several severe breaks to his weak bones. thus the ending reveals that "mr. glass" is the super-villian to willis' super-hero.
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this is the kind of review that first drew me into this site.
This doesn't happen anymore for quite awhile, with Little Nicky being the worst of it's kind,
especially with mud and dirt thrown by stupid posters against each other.
Great to know Pendragon exists here.
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this is the kind of review that first drew me into this site.
This doesn't happen anymore for quite awhile, with Little Nicky being the worst of it's kind,
especially with mud and dirt thrown by stupid posters against each other.
Great to know Pendragon exists here.
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you saw the trailer and the kid say's"I see dead people" and you thought it wasn't going to involve ghosts! what did you think the dead people were going to be, just corpses lying around on the street?. But let me guess you believe in aliens right.
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Nov 17, 2000 12:09:50 PM CST
Hey Pendragon! You ain't no Arthur, more like an Uther (which m
by arcturus
Fool.
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I find that all you said was incoherent babble. You said ALOT, but nothing of any means. I will be the judge of this movie. What alot of critics forget is that People like to be ammused, entertained, and suprised. If you feel this movie did nothing for you, then so be it. But I would prefer you to keep your OVERLY LARGE VOCABULARY to your stuffy colleges that would actually care what your opinion is.
Thank you
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Nov 17, 2000 2:33:12 PM CST
Pendragon, I think I read reviews like this back in 1982 in Cine
by arcturus
Please, it's the least we deserve.
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Why would anyone want this to be a superhero movie? Spawn? Pfaaaa!
Superman? "They are pink, Lois."
If Willis puts on a cape and spandex, I'm running for the door. I may cry. I will see this movie and try to understand it with my own perceptions. These dudes are all amateur critics. This may be the best movie of the year. However, this critique was actually better than almost all of Harry's. He almost never goes into why he doesn't like movies. Never reasons, just the fact that there are two kernels of corn goodness in a toilet bowl full of shit. OKay, I'll admit it. I am slightly touched in the head. -
Nov 17, 2000 4:55:04 PM CST
In 1982 Cinefantastique Magazine panned both "The Road Warrior"
by arcturus
mark my words.
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I know this is a little late (I'll post it again the next time Unbreakable stuff appears), but I was thinking about something the other night. NEVER go into movies with a twist trying to figure out the twist. Two examples: I was told the Usual Suspects was a GREAT movie, especially the twist within a twist at the end. Okay, I go in to watch the movie and I pick out that Spacey MUST be Kaiser Sose five minutes after the name is mentioned. Why? Simple, he's "the man with the plan" but never really plans anything. He has no physical talents that add to the gang. And obviously he's the least obvious (therefore the cliche of being the killer/monster/mastermind/whatever). So I feel all superior about figuring out the twist and basically disregard the movie as being nothing special because the "BIG SECRET" was sort of easy to figure out. Next up, the Sixth Sense. I watched it on tape in bed, sort of sleepy. I got caught up in the film and sort of forgot there was a big twist coming. Bam... I really enjoyed it. It retrospect, they're both excellent films that I ended up buying on DVD, but initially I liked one and found the other lacking. In my opinion, anyone can solve a "twist movie" if they devote most to all of their attention to figuring it out. But doing so WILL ruin the movie for you. Either you will solve it and feel the movie is too stupid for you or you won't solve it and will hate the movie for making you feel stupid. It's like being given 2 hours to solve a riddle with a naked girl in front of you. Sure, you should be able to solve the riddle in that 2 hours, but wouldn't you rather be paying attention to something else? Please, watch Unbreakable like it was just another film.
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I'm sure some will disagree, but I found Pendragon's review very refreshing. Big words? No. If anything it was very well-written and thought-provoking. Did any of the words require an 800 on your verbal SAT's? No. Just shows an educated mind.
Will I go see "Unbreakable"? Probably. But not because I like Shamalamading-dong (because he's just annoying). I'll go to a matinee just because I like to judge for myself.
Do I have expectations for this film? Not really. It could go either way. So why see it? Because either way, I know I'm going to learn from the experience. If it's good, I'll give the filmmaker credit (that's only fair). If it "sucks donkey balls", I'll still learn from it. You learn more from watching a bad movie than you do from a good one. (Unfortunately, it seems that I've been learning a lot when I go see films these days -- a lot of truly bad pictures out there. So sad... What a waste of time and money...)
Personally, would I recommend other people see this film if I like it? Don't know right now.
Shamalamadingdong comes off as a very arrogant person -- and arrogance always seems to be a sign of extreme immaturity and insecurity. Unfortunately, it is also a real turn off for me. And while one might argue that we shouldn't let personal feelings about the directors cloud our feelings for the films they make -- to stay objective -- I know for myself, I'd rather see a movie and spend money on directors' whose passion for filmmaking overshadows their insecurities. Those are the best filmmakers. No matter what boxoffice receipts might say.
Good luck, Pendragon. Keep it up. "Stay the course... A thousand points of light... Stay the course..." -
Today I have seen a preview of "Unbreakable" and I thought about posting here. But since there has been this giant review, I think it would not be worth another article. But: The film is not really bad, it is just held in the typical Shyamalan style (which is composed from other styles, but which of today's styles isn't?). The point, that makes the movie enjoyable, is: Get involved in it! Like with "6th Sense", let the film drag you to all it proposes. Accept the sometimes strange events, enjoy Bruce's journey to personal enlightenment, don't underestimate the relation to the world of comic books (even if you don't like comics, just accept it!). Then, and only then, you can truly enjoy the much discussed ending. Only then it is logical, even predictable, and only then you can lean back and say: "All right!"
Personally, I wouldn't rate the movie as high as "Sixth Sense", but it definitely is worth a watch. In my personal preferences (which do not include heroism-comic books), "Unbreakable" ranks not too high, but I definitely enjoyed the trip. It's one of those I wouldn't buy on DVD to watch over and over.
Enjoy and talk back! - Stan -
By now anyone who wants to see this movie has most likely done so and my comments won't spoil anything for anyone.
It seems to me that the thrust of the movie was to present a view of how an actual superhuman (albeit one of limited super-ness) would function in the real world. Thus, for all his life the main character had no reason to beleive he was anything special and it was only through the intervention of what seemed to be random fate that he came to understand his own uniqueness.
For me, this attempt to fit things into a "realistic" framework led directly to the jarring and unsettling ending. The last scenes leading up to the close were not at all out of place, even though the revelation that the accidents referred to in the movie had been "helped" along by human hands, and the identity and motivation of the instigator was a shocker to me.
Most people seem to find the "dragnet" style captioning used at the end to be the most disruptive and off-setting aspect of the revelations, and it did tick me off as well. However, it is not hard to figure out that in M.Whatsisname's view, this would be simply a continuation of the "realistic" conceit of the film. We've all seen these text overlays in all sorts of movies, from Animal House to TV movies about the FBI. What was jarring about them in this case was how seemingly inappropriate they were. If the film had simply ended with Mr. Glass calling after the departing hero, without the captions, it would have been a much better film, and a great comic book.
Perhaps the director will keep that in mind in his next flick.
I really liked this movie but the ending really did suck, even if it was simple another attempt to ground the story in what we have come to accept as reality.
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