Glad seeing your score, because someone I know who has seen Old said they really enjoyed it on a The Happening-camp level. Unless your three stars are for that reason as well lol
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
Mine is not. This is probably my favorite of his since Signs.
That's not to say that there isn't M Night cringe in this. But the good definitely outweighs the bad. There's also much better actors in this which helps.
One random thought, and someone confirm this for me, has M Night ever had anything close to a sex scene in his movies?
He seems almost scared to film a kissing scene, much less anything close to sex.
I think there was an implied one off screen in Unbreakable.
Similar to Tarantino in that regard. Minus the feet stuff, he doesn't go much for sex or nudity.Quoting Ezee E (view post)
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
He had a long standing production deal with Disney and all his pictures were distributed by Buena Vista. So that may be why.Quoting Ezee E (view post)
(It fell apart when refused to make changes on "Lady in Water," and the studio kicked him to the curb. So that's also kinda sorta how we got "The Happening," "The Last Airbender," and "After Earth.")
He must have taken it really hard.Quoting Irish (view post)
"How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"
--Homer
If I were to revisit one of his movies that I disliked, it'd be Lady in the Water.
I should see The Visit.
Shyamalan ranked:
60-69
1. Unbreakable
2. Split
50-59
3. Signs
4. The Sixth Sense
40-49
5. The Village
6. Lady in the Water
30-39
7. The Visit
8. The Happening
Haven't seen:
Praying with Anger
Wide Awake
The Last Airbender
After Earth
Glass
Old
Not a fan.
Last edited by transmogrifier; 07-23-2021 at 08:42 AM.
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
Think i would swap 4 and 5, otherwise agreed.
Last edited by Skitch; 07-23-2021 at 07:41 PM.
Loved The Sixth Sense, but everything he's done after that has either annoyed me or left me feeling, "meh." Old is a streaming/rental at best for me.
My YouTube Channel: Grim Street Grindhouse
My Top 100 Horror Movies OF ALL TIME.
Ditto on the first part, but I'd also at least go to bat for Unbreakable as being good, despite the wet fart of a final note it went out on.Quoting Spun Lepton (view post)
Thinking over E's comment about how this is Shyamalan's best since "Signs" and now I really want to see it.
Signs is my favorite from him.
The water bit at the end is kinda silly, but all the other themes are well implemented and executed which is why I like rewatching it.
It's hard to rewatch the Sixth Sense.
From my watch in the theater, I can tell you the exact scene in the Sixth Sense where I figured out what was up. It was about half way through. To this day no one believes me. For me Sixth Sense is to M. Night as Pulp Fiction is to QT.
Just like Braveheart, I had the 6th Sense spoiled for me before my first viewing. So I analyzed the shit out of it from the get go, and the finale was still a gut punch.
“What we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, er... an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks and that's all.”
Unbreakable is objectively his best film and anyone who doesn't agree deserves to drown in diarrhea.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
I knew there was a twist going in but not what it was; unfortunately, being primed to look for it, I knew what it was by the time the prologue ended.Quoting Scar (view post)
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
Old is too much of a retread of what The Village did. Obnoxious scripting and idiotic motivations from all angles. If you like what Shyamalan does, watch it. I don't, so Old is a Nope!
Ditto, which is the sure sign of a greatly executed twist ending, which is why it's so much better than Unbreakable's "And then yadayadayada happened" textposition, which felt like Shyamalan typed it out in a rush because he was running late for lunch. I still feel it's a good movie on the whole, but it would've gone out so much stronger if it had had one last five minute scene where []Quoting Scar (view post)
While I figured out Sixth Senses twist halfway through, I didn't see Unbreakables coming. I should have, but I didnt.
Don't think he's ever been able to recapture the emotional sincerity of that scene in the car between Osment and Collette.
(I actually have a lot of love for Signs tho.)
"How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"
--Homer
This is a mixed bag, but it's never boring.
Old is full of weird decisions like performances that take turns for the robotic, expository and strange dialogue and even stranger framing and camerawork. It’s also clear there wasn’t much for budget on the film considering there were moments where characters facially reacting to something horrifying and disgusting, but we never see it on-screen, deflating any tension created. That said, despite having an uneven tone, Old remains effective on both the levels of hilarious gonzo camp with its plot developments, and genuinely affecting human drama when characters openly and wistfully express regrets, secrets, emotions and acceptance as they stare their mortality in the face. The aging effects are well done, and the actors convey their varying degrees of deterioration in splendid fashion as the film progresses, with Alex Wolff and Vicky Krieps being the MVPs. Old is ultimately a mixed bag as far as execution goes, but worth seeing for those who like Shyamalan’s output and want to venture to a new, bizarre planet he’s created for his characters.
Last Five Films I've Seen (Out of 5)
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse (Mackesy, 2022) 4.5
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (Crawford, 2022) 4
Confess, Fletch (Mottola, 2022) 3.5
M3GAN (Johnstone, 2023) 3.5
Turning Red (Shi, 2022) 4.5
Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953) 5
615 Film
Letterboxd
I was really into the De Palma level formalism + bonkers absolutely nutzo melodrama while we watch everything on the beach. Shyamalan really brings out the cinema toolkit in those scenes. There's rack focus, 360 pans, split diopter, entire shots deliberately out of focus, jarring slam cuts to black, and an entire sex scene (???) made up of shoulder blades. But man oh man, do I think this ending is garbage. I could hear the voice in my brain going "no Night no!" the further it digs in to the dumbass ending. Real frustrating since this had potential for a quiet, contemplative ending that could have been real lovely. Not to mention Mr. Twist Guy giving the ultimate twist by not having a twist at all. But no Night is back on his bullshit. Oh and on top of that the ending is weirdly[]
Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:
Top Gun: Maverick - 8
Top Gun - 7
McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
Crimes of the Future - 8
Videodrome - 9
Valley Girl - 8
Summer of '42 - 7
In the Line of Fire - 8
Passenger 57 - 7
Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6