With “The Happening” coming this weekend (too bad it’s going up against The Incredible Hulk), our eyes are once again turned to that very unique filmmaker (hey… love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit he certainly does have his own style), The ShamHammer himself, M. Night Shyamalan.
So in honor of his forthcoming release, I thought it would be fun to look back on his films up to this point and rank them in order of best to worst. Now let me give this quick disclaimer… for most people, M. Night Shyamalan came into existence with The Sixth Sense, even thought he did have 2 films before that (Praying with Anger and Wide Awake)… so for the purposes of this post, were just going to look at the career of Shyamalan starting with Sixth Sense.
I’ve gone on record many times and said that I believe that M. Night Shyamalan’s films have gotten progressively worse and worse since that break out with Sixth Sense. As I’ve put my list here together though… I’ve come to realize that isn’t actually 100% true… you’ll see what I mean.
M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN’S FILMS FROM BEST TO WORST
1) THE SIXTH SENSE
There are good movies… and then there are movies that effect their audiences so much (either with fear, laughter, shock, excitement… whatever) that they go beyond being just a film, and become a part of the pop-culture fabric itself. And it wasn’t even just the catch line “I see dead people” either. The whole film was brilliantly orchestrated. The screenplay was only outdone by the direction. And the ending redefined what a “twist” came to mean. As a matter of fact… now whenever you mention a “twist ending”, people everywhere generally think about Sixth Sense… as a matter of fact, I’ve read some critics now who just refer to a twist ended as “pulling a sixth sense”. A fantastic, well thought out, creepy and haunting film. Truly the Shamhammer’s coming out party, and unquestionably his best film by miles.
2) SIGNS
In this film, M. Night Shyamalan showed us that he understood the most important thing about directing a “horror” or scary film. That one thing is understanding that what the audience DOESN’T see, will scare them a whole hell of a lot more than what they DO see if the atmosphere and environment are set up properly. That damn scene where Mel Gibson is out in the corn fields looking around and just BARELY catches a glimpse of a foot as it disappears into the field was AWESOME! BRILLIANT shot selection. But it wasn’t just the disappearing foot… it was the atmosphere that Shammy already set up. Very good characters, very good scares…. all almost wasted by a terrible ending… but overall still a solid film.
3) UNBREAKABLE
This is where my “progressively worse” theory hits a snag. Unbreakable actually came out before Signs… I feel Signs is just ahead of it in quality. Unbreakable was a very interesting idea… a very different kind of Superhero movie. Bruce Willis’ character is a fantastic one, and the slow unraveling of his mystery is well crafted. However, i think this film get over hyped for it’s INTENTION rather than it’s actual results. Samuel L Jackson’s character could have been one of the best ever… but he ends up being just so lame… so silly… and I’ll say it… so comic booky, that after a while he just got annoying. Another terrible ending (I’m sorry, but Jackson’s big plan reveal at the end was so ridiculous that it wasted much of the great set up of the film) too. Unbreakable had the makings of being a great movie… had the potential of being a great movie… had all the elements of being a great movie… but in its execution it feel to the floor of being a pretty good movie…. sort of.
4) THE VILLAGE
To me, The Village was the film where the proverbial shoe dropped for M. Night Shyamalan. A movie whose ending I (and many other people) predicted literally almost 2 months before the film opened. An M. Night Shyamalan film without any sense of suspense or surprise becomes a very thin and very empty experience. The Village also lacked any compelling characters like his previous films had and instead relied on character gimmicks to make them appear interesting. The movie seemed to come from a great idea (as most of Shammy’s films do), but didn’t really have a clear idea of how to cultivate that idea into a solid narrative (which to be fair… isn’t easy). The first legitimately “bad” M. Night Shyamalan film… but unfortunately it would not be his last, nor would it be his worst. There was still “Lady In The Water” to come.
5) LADY IN THE WATER
In the months leading up to the release of “Lady In The Water”, I wrote a post called “John’s 5 Most Anticipated Movies Of 2006” in which I acknowledged that Shammy had been losing it, and totally screwed the dog with “The Village”, but that Lady In The Water looked good to me and it made it to the #5 spot on my list. Little did I know that what I was going to get instead was one of the worst motion pictures in history. No really. What was on my most anticipated list ended up ranking at #1 in my “Worst Movies Of 2007” list. Here’s what I said about Lady In The Water in that post:
“Lady in the Water embodies the downfall of M. Night Shyamalan and all the things that led to it. Without a doubt the most self absorbed, self serving and self praising piece of cinematic garbage to dirty the screen this year. What starts off with a promising concept and mythology, quickly gets flushed down the toilet with witless banter, massive logic jumps, poor story telling all of which was almost drowned out by the loud sound of M. Night patting himself on the back. A total mess from start to finish, Lady in the Water shows us what can happen when a director without all that much credits to his name starts believing all his own press. Easily, the worst film of 2006.”
So now we come to “The Happening”. Early word hasn’t been promising and in general we just don’t hear people buzzing about this film like we’re used to seeing before the release of a Shammy movie. We’ll have to see how it turns out. One thing I will say is this… great talent just doesn’t disappear. M. Night Shyamalan has proved he has talent with films like Sixth Sense, Signs and to a lesser degree Unbreakable. So what has happened to him? Personally I think his ego and rejection of studio input are the main culprits… but that’s just speculation on my part. So while I’m not excited to see “The Happeneing” this week, I am nonetheless interested in seeing what that good ol’ ShamHammer has come up with now.
So how about you? How would you rank Shammy’s films? Do you think he’s lost it? Do you still have faith in him? What are you expecting from The Happening? Let us know in the comments section.
I don’t know whats the deal with “The Happening” and the bad rap it gets. This movie just didn’t seem as bad to me when I watched. It was a different story something that we are not really accustomed to see when we go into the movie to watch a suspense movie Ill give you that but it was creepy as hell anyways. This flick kept me on the edge of my sit the entire time. The way he just makes a simple movie scary and tense with just sounds and light is just brilliant. To me I think his worst movie was “Lady in the Water” …now that was crap.
I was surprised that you rated Unbreakable as poorly as you did. To me, it simply is one of the best movies of all time.
Then when I started scanning the comments, I believe my view has been reinforced – most of the comments tend to favour Unbreakable as Shamhammer’s best work, while you only rate it at 3rd place.
And just to counter the comment by Masakari above, “They called me Mr Glass” was the perfect closing for this movie, totally in tune with the concept of a Superhero story. If you still didn’t get it by now, what it means is: as the audience, we should have “realised” at the start of the movie that Samuel L Jackson’s character was going to become the movie’s super-villain. Why? Because the “clue” was already given at the start of the movie, when the little boy said: “They call me Mr Glass”.
Can’t stand his films – but you use as a derogatory “Shammy” – as in a “sham” – fake – fraud?
Or is there a racial tint to this as in “Sammy” – a racial epithet used by British colonist against Indians.
If there is – then shame on you.
If there isn’t then shame on you for not being smart enough to see the connection.
1. Unbreakable
2. The Sixth Sense
3. The Village
4. Signs
5. The Happening
I love the village. I don’t get the hate. I thought it was a wonderful parable of bush’s strategy of fear
Unbreakable is by far his best film. Followed by Signs, then Sixth Sense, then The Village. Haven’t seen Lady in the Water.
Disagree. Unbreakable was awesome, best twist at the end.
They are not getting worse, it’s just that the 6th sense was so good it’s hard to live up to it again. On their own his movies are tops.
I think people are trying to hard to guess the twist at the end before the movie even starts. I did it with the Village, and it sort of ruined it for me as it wasn’t that bad a movie
I agree with your list as much as I can, considering I haven’t seen all his films. Frankly, after The Village and reading the reviews for Lady in the Water, I wanted to spare myself the experience of having to see it. What happened to this guy after such a promising start? All I can think of is that the success went to his head and, at way too young an age, he suddenly saw himself as a Serious Artist With Something To Say. We can only hope he recovers from this pathology and returns to the good storytelling that made Sixth Sense so good and original.
Well i’ve only seen Signs and The Sixth Sense and i think they’re both great, but what really frustrates me is people who think Signs is trash or Night’s worst movie, its one of his best! Really Effective, Clever, About faith and does not have a twist which i like.
#1 unbreakable #2 sixth sense #3 signs #4 the village i have not seen the rest of them but unbreakable is One of the best movies i have ever seen so that is definatly #1.
Unbreakable
Sixth Sense
The Happening
The Village
Lady in the Water
The Signs
Every movie is great though, except Signs.
Why do so many people like Unbreakable? I love superhero movies (Iron Man & Batman Begins being the best), and Unbreakable had to be THE worst superhero movie I’ve ever seen…wait a second…the third worst. I forgot they made Elektra & Ghost Rider. “They called me Mr. Glass.” was the worst closing line of any movie I’ve ever heard. I felt jilted out of my money after hearing that.
Anyway, on to the list:
1) Sixth Sense (bya hair)- However this may be biased because I only bothered watching it in it’s entirety once. Since I knew it wouldn’tbe nearly as good a second time.
2) Signs – I have watced this one many times and love nearly everything about it. The only thing that bothered me was that the best Night could come with for a weakness for his ETs was water!?!?!? Why not just make them alergic to air?
3) Lady in The Water – Far behind the first two in terms of quality. I just like how none of the characters turn out to fit the roles that you’d expect them to.
4) Unbreakable – *Please see my gripe up top*
5) The Village – Nice atmosphere. That’s the only good thing I have to say about this movie. The ending was the most telegraphed, anti-climate “shocker” of Night’s repertoir. Stevie Wonder saw this one coming!
I think Shyamalan is unique and has a unique vision. Even the films that weren’t as successful gave you something to think about. I didn’t like The Village as much as his previous films but it did give me some things to ponder over for a long time after I had seen the film.
@Joseph I liked it too…..I think the suits killed that movie like they killed the village….by marketing both of those movies as horror movies….(I don’t know if Shyamalan has any say in the marketing strategy for his movies….)
Lady in the water was a classic kid -disney-fantasy movie better than that shitty over budget Narnia and Bridge to shit-ithia crap….
I don’t care much about the village, but I think I’ll watch it again for performances…..
Signs and Unbreakable are my fav. Shyamalan movies….just great movies to watch, the atmosphere, acting and story is amazing….ending is questionable but its his opinion as a film maker and it shouldn’t undermine the overall effort….
I think he’s got a long way to go before he becomes Hitchcock, but he started well and he needs to stop believing the press and make some good movies….I hope the Happening is a good movie….not for Shyamalan’s sake, but for me as a fan, because his good movies are truly good movies
Quite frankly, Unbreakable is easily my favourite of his films. Far more so than The Sixth Sense.
ok here we go
1.Signs this movie is about FAITH granted the first time I watched it I hated it however seeing it again I fell in love with it the final scene where its reaveled that every thing happened for a reason is incredably moving and the scene with the their are two kinds of people speach is just great
2.Unbreakable Im a sucker for a comic book movie
3.the sixth sense redefined what a “twist” was
4.the village still has a great atmosphere
5.lady in the water SHIT nothing more to say just SHIT
am i the only person that liked lady in the water? how the hell can everybody hate it so much…maybe im in the twilight zone
Unbreakable has become my favorite Shyamalan movie. I enjoyed it when it first came out, but my appreciation of it has deepened over time and re-watchings.
I agree with those who suggest that Shyamalan’s great blunder with Signs was showing the aliens. Once they are fully revealed, all the air went out of the movie. After all, they are neither scary nor powerful nor, apparently, particularly intelligent. Signs is a good flick but it could have been so much better, I think.
I am one of the few who enjoyed “Lady in the Water.” It’s a fairy tale and needs to be appreciated on its own terms.
Signs is one of the most stupid movies ever made, god awful film and so retarded.
good list john….heres mine
1. 6th sense…haley was amazing, willis was great, decent scares, creepy atmosphere, good use of color and lighting, and a great ending…. the whole nine
close 2nd. Unbreakable- brilliantly told superhero movie…the scene in the hospital after the initial train crash….AWESOME!!!…i loved this movie, in my top 100..lol
3. the village- horribly mis-advertised….the marketing team ruined this….people who went in expecting a horror flick with monsters and a twist were disappointed…what they got was a deliberately paced drama, mystery, suspense movie with a good twist…loved it
4. signs- a lot of really good scenes…alien on roof, alien on video tape, alien behind door, talk with m.night, and more. but when i think about it some of is was kinda…dumb..
6. lady in the water….decent flick…m.night sucked his own d–k a lil too much formy take….”writer that will change the world” really?…good acting….but just decent
The only thing that continues to impress with each movie is the music by James Newton Howard.
Shyamalan is a great director. I enjoy his films, because even if they’re not always perfect, they’re always unpredictable and vastly different from most of the films released by major studios. So I’m really looking forward to the Happening.
For me, Unbreakable is probably my favorite, because it is still enjoyable to watch more than once. Plus I’m always a sucker for a superhero story. I’d love to see a sequel, if it could be pulled off as well as the first.
Sixth Sense was brilliant when you watched it for the first time. This film could not have been done any better.
I really enjoyed signs, but the ending really ruined what had been set up with the aliens. I wish they’d been kept out of sight the whole time. It would have been far scarier. My god, that birthday party footage creeped the hell out of me!
I enjoyed the Village, and the fact that by this point Shyamalan knew people were waiting for “the twist” and set us up with a few false twists throughout (the monsters aren’t real… but then they are… but then they’re not… and then they’re irrelevant)
Lady In The Water was terrible. I didn’t enjoy it at all, on any level. I’m prepared to forgive and forget and still class Shyamalan as a good director. I can see what he was going for, and it was a complex film, but that doesn’t make it any better than it is. But the only comfort I took from Lady was the fact that he still seemed to be putting a lot of thought and effort into the creativity and originality of his films, as opposed to George Lucas with the SW prequels, where I lost faith in him as a creative film maker. It’s for that reason I still have a lot of hope that The Happening will be great.
1) Unbreakable – one, if not the best, superhero movies ever made
2) Signs – a story about faith, not about an alien invasion
3) Lady in the Water – gets way too much hate, being unfortunate younger sibling to The Village
4) Sixth Sense – gets way too much praise as the eldest one.
5) The Village – a clunker to be sure, but the knife reveal shot is worth watching alone
@790, you’ve pretty much nailed it (although a little overstated). Sixth Sense & Unbreakable had SO many good ingredients, whereas Mozzerino is spot-on re. the “desert of nothingness” after those first two. All the others had glimmers of hope, but I still found myself asking, “Is this the same friggin’ director?!”
Clearly, Bruce Willis is the secret to a good Shyamalan film.
The first couple of Shyamalan films were great to see with an audience (The Sixth Sense and Signs).
I thought the twist in “The Village” was not the one at the end, but that a blind girl was the savior of the village and not Joaquin Phoenix who was built up to be the one to save them.
Lady in the Water was just a terrible movie.
Shyamalan’s problem is that he keeps putting himself in his films and it takes you right out of it.
Unbreakable is the best for me. I hated the Village, it ripped off the book Running Out of Time and made it shitty.
1. The Sixth Sense
2. Unbreakable
3. The Village
4. Signs
I liked The Village more than most people. It wasn’t great, but it was successfully creepy, and I didn’t guess the twist. Two oddities: (1) for a village without technology, one scene had some super bright and blatantly artificial lighting on some distant fog, (2) Bryce Dallas Howard’s dramatic performance was impressive, but physically, she played one of the most seemingly vision-capable blind people I’ve ever seen.
Signs had great directing & acting, but I think my opinion of it is tainted by the hype it had at the time. I kept hearing people say, “It’s not what you think. It’s not what you think.” In terms of the threat in the movie, it is *exactly* what I would have thought it was from everything that happened in the first half of the movie. The actual twist (which comes shortly after the threat reveal) was just kind of lame.
I didn’t see Lady in the Water, and it sounds like I didn’t miss much. I might read the spoilers for it on Wikipedia since I’m now curious about its twist but don’t want to sit through the movie to find it out.
I refuse to see The Happening because I don’t like how flippantly (is that a word?) it seems to treat acts of suicide. The commercials make it appear like softcore torture porn, only the potentially gory events are self-inflicted by the characters. That’s just not the kind of images I want to have stuck in my head walking out of a theater.
What about Stuart Little? Where does that rank?
10 bucks says M.Night’s cameo will be a dead guy….;-)
Kristina’s on FIRE!!!!!
She’s hot!!!
1) Signs. His best work to date.
2) Unbreakable [note: an entertaining, interesting film but a weak script]
3) Sixth Sense. [note: the film’s twist ending had me a case of ‘so what’ and the film got way too much attention. Another film, Dave Keopp’s ‘Stir Of Echoes’ was a better film on ghostly grounds]
4) The Village. [A twist which…you say WTF for all the wrong reasons!]
****
Don’t think because I left a film off at #5 that means I think Lady In The Water is his worst film to date. The real reason is that I haven’t wasted two hours of my life yet, after heeding the strong points of wisdom from the many, many dear int’l friends out there…
I really love his films but I am getting tired of him showing up in all of his films. I really think he needs to just stay behind the camera.
And Signs and Unbreakable are my favorites! Good to see some Shyamalan love around here!
I agree with those who say that The Village was very misunderstood and people just let their expectations get in the way. If people had expected a different type of movie, they would have been able to enjoy it for what it was.
I suggest that anyone who doesn’t like it, but have only seen it once should see it again. I think you might see how great the movie is the second time.
I am a big fan boy when it comes to Shyamalan so I tend to overrate his movies (so I’ve been told) but I am ok with that:
1. Sixth Sense
2. Signs
3. Unbreakable
4. The Village
5. Lady in the Water
He shouldn’t have showed the alien in Signs. The movie might make it into my top 2 if it didn’t show the alien. I think the movie would have been so much better if all we were able to see was the raw footage from the kids birthday party, that alone, was creepy enough to carry me through the movie.
Unbreakable is the underground cult favorite of most Shyamalan lovers, it’s the one movie most mainstream critics hated and most anti-mainstream critics loved…probably because it was hated by everyone else.
Sixth Sense is thrilling, eerie, scary, and one of the most original screenplays that came out in its time. There are scenes in this movie that still make me jump, even after I’ve seen it a hundred times.
The Village, I thought, was a lot better than people give it credit for and yes it did reveal the big twist in the middle of the movie, but I think it added to the rest of the movie as opposed to ruining it as a lot of people have claimed.
Lady in the Water was good, but compared to his other films, is last in the list. On its own, I still enjoy watching it, but put up to the rest of his films, I’ll pass.
I am hopelessly expecting The Happening to be good because I want M. Night to return to his glory, I want him to be good again. Here’s to hope.
Unbreakable was excellent!
@Kristina
I liked Unbreakable, but I’d still like to sign up for the boinking, in case you are compiling a list. Just saying…
the 6th sense and unbreakable are the only ones i like all the way through.
signs and the village have a great buildup but just land with a thud.
i still havent seen lady in the water.
Despite my hatred for the Village, I think the thing that killed it was the editing. Shamhammer presented one of the big twists in the middle of the movie and it destroyed the tension in the later scenes.
yeah 720 got it- the happening comes out with the hulk and then the dark knight comes out the week after that. NO ONE is going to watch it.
Unbreakable fucking rules and anyone who says otherwise can get fucked:)
I agree with the list, only thing I would flip is the sixth sense and signs. While the sixth sense was an amazing movie through the first viewing, it just does not have any rewatchability. I even would say that upon watching the film again, the twist at the end makes even less sense in certain situations. So he wears the same clothes as he did on the night before he died, and thus he wears those clothes throughout the film… genius! Not really, I think it’s an easy cop out, along with numerous others in the film, i.e. the restaurant scene is way too unrealistic with how upset she is and loud she speaks. I could go on, but won’t.
Signs though has one of the greatest atmospheres contained in any movie. From the first moment you are sucked into the feel of a small town and the lurking doom protruding throughout the film. I have watched this movie again and again and it never gets old. Yet I do agree with wolfmarauder in the lack of depth of the aliens being a problem.
Regardless though, I think that shyalaman is just not a good writer in terms of dialogue. Obviously a few scenes in every movie are good (gibson/phoenix in signs for one), but he is more profound with the camera than anything else. When it comes to learning about the characters, or even their interaction with each other I feel he needs a lot of work. I would love to see him direct another writer’s material in the same kind of thrilleresque style. I feel the best moments in his films are usually when nobody is talking.
1 Sixth Sense
2 Unbreakable
That’s it the rest I didn’t care to see.
Hulk is going to destroy “Happening” this weekend.
@OCASEK
You should never have gone solo. Anyway, Jaws doesn’t count because Jaws is neither a monster nor an alien, technically speaking. W/R to Aliens, I think the aliens are front and center, unlike the Cloverfield Monster.
Royal,
Does your rule include films like Jaws and Alien, in which the monster is no really seen until the last 3rd of the film. Or maybe rule #44 is ignore all other rules, if a film is good, it’s good.
By the way Unbreakable is Shamhammers best. Willis, Sam Jackson, and the Sham at the very best. It also had a great score and I loved the ending.
Ric
@FRID
I haven’t published my list of rules yet, but rule #43 is that aliens/monsters get top-billing. No exceptions.
My list:
1. UNBREAKABLE
Shymalumpidum’s best film by far. Great concept, great execution. This is a nearly perfect film in my mind. Besides BATMAN BEGINS it is the best movie about superheroes made so far. I would love to see a sequel, but only if it could keep that level of quality. Bruce Willis also is fucking outstanding in it.
2. SIXTH SENSE
It is a very solid thriller that still holds up very well and features great performances by Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collete. Bruce is also good. Shymalongdidong proofed with this that he can deliver some good scares. The twist is I think however overrated. It’s cool at first, but when you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense.
Than there is a big, deserted desert of nothingness.
3. SIGNS
It’s alright. It features two great scenes (alien in the corn field, alien on the videotape), but that’s about it. The conclusion is lame.
4. THE VILLAGE
Despite a good cast, this is overall a very disappointing film, which has an intriguing concept, but doesn’t deliver.
5. LADY IN THE WATER
One of the worst, self indulgent pieces of shit ever made.
I have no hope for THE HAPPENING. The early word has been quite bad and the clips we have seen from it look horrible.
1. Unbreakable
The only Shyamalan film that truly had me in its grip entirely, and the only one I find to be truly creative.
2. Signs
Potent material, and effective atmospherically. Only flaw is the lack of depth into the aliens, which was clearly intentional, was a poor decision in my opinion because it left too many leaps in logic that would have been more comfortable if they were explained.
3. The Sixth Sense
Also effective atmospherically, but I saw the ending from a mile away, and there really wasn’t any other substance there.
4. The Village
This is a misunderstood film, and I believe if Shyamalan had made it before Unbreakable or Signs, people would have warmed to it a little easier. It was also marketed as something it wasn’t; horror. However, misunderstood or not, it does indeed mark the point in which Shyamalan surrendered to his own legacy, and began pastiching himself.
5. Lady in the Water
Hated this film. As a screenwriter myself, I know for every genius idea I come up with. there are five terrible ones. This is a case of Shyamalan being too stubborn to accept that his idea wasn’t going to work, and a case of yes-men refusing to tell him so.
Royal!
Where can I find a list of the movie rules you refer to?
1. The Village.
Actually, all of them are good. I just loved the score in The Village. I cannot watch The Sixth Sense any more because of the twist. Seen it once and no more.
You know I dont know why Saymalan gets such praise. Sixth Sense was a dull dripple with no thrilling or horror aspects to it, Hell Blair Witch was better movie i think. This guy is one trick pony, and its been showing for years now. You say George Lucas has fallen …well if thats the case then Nights has fallen and is about to hit the cement pavement hard.
I disagree entirely. I loved The Village and Lady in the Water. The only Shyam movie I didn’t enjoy was Signs, but that was because it violated Movie Rule #43: if a movie has an alien/monster, the creature must get top-billing. Rule #43 is why Cloverfield was such a disappointment for me.
I would totally agree with your list John except I would put Unbreakable above Signs.
I think the main problem with the Village wasn’t that the twist ending was so predictable but more that it changed the audience’s perspective on the whole film. What comes before the twist is not enitrely awful. The script is decent and some of the acting is good. However when Shyamalan puts this twist in it puts everything that preceeded it in a different light. He takes us from one world into another and changes the whole film in a matter of seconds. It is an interesting idea but is executed poorly.
I have quite high hopes for The Happening. From the trailers I think Shyamalan may have again found what made his early films so good: suspense. I really do hope that it is a good film because I respect him as a film maker but recently he seems to have become far too arrogant and complacent with his films.
I gotta say I would list as:
1) Unbreakable
2) The Sixth Sense
3) Signs
4) Lady In The Water
5) The Crappage
It was a pretty close tie for last place there but I did I have to make a decision after all. I love that he at least TRIES to do stuff the is unique. After all, complain as you like, he has never made The Seventh Sense, or Still Unbreakable. He constantly seeks out new (sort of) material and seems to challenge himself as a filmmaker. That being said, I can’t say I like everything about the films he made that I enjoyed, with the exception of my top two. The distance between my top two here and third place is pretty expansive as i don’t think Signs is anywhere NEAR Sixth Sense or Unbreakable.
That being said he seems to be placing himself in more and more important roles, which I think he needs to stay away from. If the cause of “The Happening” is himself I will stab myself in the tit with a rock.
I will still see it though. I will just see it with my fingers crossed.
Pretty much agree with your rankings. I enjoyed the hell out of unbreakable and still watch it from time to time.
I know this guy has the ability to hit it out of the park so I’ll always look for his films with an open mind. I hope the happening is a great film, but the reviews certainly haven’t looked good.