LADY IN THE WATER & other M. Night Shyamalan stuff

This is one of those reviews that isn't really a review since I've seen the movie a few times. I caught LADY IN THE WATER tonight and just wanted to write something on it.

It's a story...a bedtime story that comes to life for an apartment complex manager, Cleveland Heep, played by Paul Giamatti. I gotta add here that Paul Giamatti is one of the finest actors around right now. Love him. Anyway, his character was a doctor who's family was tragically killed. And so he has come to be the building superintendent as a sort of escape from his life. One night, he finds a young lady, Story, that has been living in the swimming pool. As it turns out, she is a mystical character from a story, and according to the story, she has come from her world to "inspire" someone specific - she only has to look at him to impart the inspiration. After this, she must wait for the big eagle to come take her to safety. However, there are evil, vicious creatures, called scrunts, who live in the grass and who want to devour her. The story also says that various people have been drawn to this place at this time to accomplish the task of getting Story to safety. The catch is, these humans don't know who they are yet. The roles they must fill are: the Guardian, the Healer, the Guild, and the Interpreter. Cleveland enlists the help of various people in the building to try to figure out who fits these roles. Once they think they have it figured out, they find that things are still not falling into place. And time is running out, for if the eagle comes and they can't deliver Story safely to him, he will not come again. This is quite a scary bedtime story for younger kids, but it is an awesome story. Each character is so different that you get caught up trying to figure out who fits which role. It's definitely a movie that you have to watch again once you know who's who. My favorite part is in the end when they realize that one of the roles is actually someone they never dreamed it would be! It was funny and scary and dramatic and sad all in one movie. There's one particular scene where I felt like sobbing...it was where Story tells the one whom she came to inspire, what his future holds.

M. Night Shyamalan always seems to make a cameo in his movies, but in this one, he was one of the lead roles, and did an excellent job.

If you don't recognize the name M. Night Shyamalan, I'm sure you'll know his movies: SIGNS, SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE, THE VILLAGE. He is a master of storytelling. I'm not really one for horror flicks, so it took me a long while before I got around to seeing SIXTH SENSE. when I finally did ..it was nothing that I expected. It was...shocking. After that one, I was hooked on Shyamalan

SIGNS is also one of my favorites. On the surface, a movie about aliens, but to me, it was a movie of loss of faith, sorrow, despair, hope...and yeah, about God.

I also loved THE VILLAGE. Just a scary movie...no, more than that. It's a story of man trying to escape evil, but he can't because it is his very nature.

In June, Shyamalan has a new movie coming out - THE HAPPENING with Mark Wahlberg. And you know I will be there on opening (M.) Night!