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Correct, apparently 30 years in the making! I watched it with my free Shudder trial, among some other neat films like Late Night with the Devil.
Thanks for the shout. I have Shudder and didn't know this was on it. Going to check it out now.
It's a great film IMO, but a hard watch.
Great film @Mathis1 believe me, it's miles better than the Costner film. While that film isn't bad, it's all a bit self-important and overlong. I think Tombstone is up for a re-watch...
Apparently it was “ Ghost Directed “ by Russell
https://screenrant.com/tombstone-movie-kurt-russell-ghost-directed-sylvester-stallone/#:~:text=Russell passionately believed in Tombstone,: First Blood Part 2).
That wouldn't surprise me at all if true. Russell's passion for that film shines through, including his powerful performance.
Plus his spectacular facial furniture! 😅
Yes, I did hear that story about him ghost directing! George Pan Cosmatos doesn't have a great track record!
Took my service users to see this today, and oh, what a disappointment! To be honest I knew it couldn't achieve the majestic heights of 'Paddington 2' and with Paul King not in the director's chair, I didn't get my hopes up. But even with me lowering my expectations, it's a really poor, lazy effort! No charm, or humour, laboured storytelling, poor characters ( I like Emily Mortimer, but she was a poor substitute for the unique Sally Hawkins!) Olivia Colman tries her best but is just not given anything decent to do! If you're a fan of the first two, I would avoid this, as it sullies their reputation!
(As a footnote, one my group said it was one of the most boring films he'd ever seen! 🫣)
1. Unbreakable (2000)
For me, Shyamalan’s greatest achievement is this grounded superhero film at the turn of the millennium. It has a gorgeous score from James Newton Howard, pitch-perfect performances from Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, and a refreshing lack of action and spectacle in favor of drama and discovery. Shyamalan crafted his very own style of comic book moviemaking with Unbreakable, and he did it before comic book movies became trendy. One of my all-time favorite films.
2. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Of course, his most popular and well-reviewed film still must rank very high for me. Willis is on fire here too, but just as superb are Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette as a struggling son and mother. It’s a well-crafted piece from top to bottom, in equal parts scary and melancholic. I certainly couldn’t fault anyone for giving it the #1 spot. The twist is legendary, and rewatches are always delightful.
3. Signs (2002)
I really love Signs. I know it’s significantly more technically flawed than the above two movies, but I can’t help but really enjoy and rewatch this film. Shyamalan puts us in a terrifying extraterrestrial apocalypse situation, and wisely chooses to focus in on one broken family rather than the world at large. Plot holes are acknowledged, but what works so well with Signs is excellent acting, great music, and a welcome helping of eccentric humor amid a truly terrifying experience. The movie is effectively scary, entertaining, and touching.
4. Knock at the Cabin (2023)
I was really surprised to like Knock at the Cabin as much as I did. Like Signs, an apocalypse looms and occurs, but we are focused on just a few characters who are the most important players in said apocalypse. There are some conveniences and unexplained details, sure, but the movie gripped me from start to finish and made me pretty emotional. The acting, especially from Jonathan Goff, Ben Aldridge, and Dave Bautista, is very impressive. It’s very dark and sad, and apparently the book version is even more brutal! Anyway, I think this was Shyamalan’s finest film in two decades, and arguably his most mature.
5. Split (2016)
The twist of this movie being a sequel to Unbreakable had me so hyped when I saw this at the theater! That cool bit aside, though, Split is still a solid film all on its own, too. James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy are superb, and I’m just continually impressed at how many great performances Shyamalan gets out of his actors. This one’s got great thrills, buildup, and intensity, and was a very different but worthy followup to Unbreakable.
6. Glass (2019)
I know Glass had a lukewarm reception, but I’ll gladly defend it as Shyamalan’s most underrated movie, and honestly a pretty decent trilogy capper. I could never understand the complaint about the film lacking big action or spectacle when Shyamalan’s Unbreakable trilogy was never about that. Although a little messy since it has to balance so many characters, Glass has the same reflectiveness and emotional appeal of its predecessors. Seeing David Dunn in action again was a lot of fun, and while the resolutions of the characters are maybe a bit disappointing, the overall ideas made sense to me, and I appreciate what Shyamalan went for here. It’s not quite as consistently strong as the other two in the trilogy, but it’s a good, fitting end for it.
7. The Village (2004)
The Village is a tough one. I still solidly lean towards positivity rather than negativity on it, though I do admit in some ways that the collective experience is a bit underwhelming. I don’t mind the plot twists that bothered a lot of audiences, but their executions were questionable. I think it lacks some of the punch of other Shyamalan films. But having said that, I think this movie still has a lot going for it, namely all the acting performances, a really sweet love story, exceptional cinematography from the legendary Roger Deakins, and more great music from James Newton Howard. It definitely could have used some work, but the film has merit, and no doubt would have been received better had it not been marketed as the next Sixth Sense or Signs.
8. Trap (2024)
Shyamalan’s latest movie sits comfortably right in the middle of my ranking. What I will say about Trap is that it really, and I mean REALLY, stretches believability at many points, but at the same time is a pretty entertaining flick with a really fun, hammy performance from Josh Hartnett. Beyond Cooper and his daughter Riley, I did find myself struggling to care about many other characters, and Saleka Night Shyamalan is distracting and not very good at acting here, I must be honest. Still, I think the movie was well-paced with the transition of action from the concert to outside of it, and it was always fun seeing what Cooper was going to do next. I can’t call it a fully “good” movie, but I was entertained and still think it’s worth trying for anyone skeptical.
9. The Visit (2015)
The Visit was considered something of a comeback film for Shyamalan after the brutal 4-movie run of Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth. I didn’t think it was too special myself, but it was still nice to see Shyamalan make something that wasn’t terrible again. The “grandparents” were fun and interesting, but beyond that the movie didn’t offer too much for me, with just about every other aspect being just “fine” or so for my tastes. I’d consider it Shyamalan’s most average effort overall, but your mileage may vary one way or the other.
10. Wide Awake (1998)
Well, I guess Wide Awake could also fairly be considered Shyamalan’s most average film for me. This one’s a 90s dramedy that’s kind of forgettable, but not awful. It’s not really Shyamalan-esque, and feels a lot more like a heavily producer-influenced family film than an auteur director’s work. It’s okay, there are worse ways to spend an hour and a half, I just don’t really have much else to say.
11. Lady in the Water (2006)
So, Lady in the Water is actually the toughest movie on this list for me to rank. Objectively, it’s totally trash, and a cringey fall from grace after Shyamalan had his run of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village. However, a decent chunk of it falls into the “so bad it’s good” territory for me, like silly overacted moments or just downright baffling stuff like the cereal box readings. A lot of it is still boring and painful, too, though, so I don’t feel right ranking it higher, at least now. A good example of your mileage may vary with how much of the bad you enjoy or not.
12. Praying with Anger (1992)
Shyamalan’s debut film is pretty bland and forgettable. It’s not very well-acted or interesting. It’s just saved from being lower on the list because of the movies that did so much more wrong…
13. Old (2021)
Old was a big disappointment for me after it seemed Shyamalan was back in form again for a while with Split and Glass. I had a hard time getting into much of any of it, really; the pacing was rough, the characters mostly weren’t interesting, and the twist was pretty lame. Outside of some funny overacted moments, this was just a snooze-fest for me I’m afraid.
14. The Happening (2008)
Oh boy, now things are getting REALLY rough. I know for many, The Happening falls into the “so bad it’s good” territory, but I just remember it being painful and could not wait for it to end. I’d love to find it in me to try it again someday and be able to laugh at least, but man, this was just not an enjoyable experience at all the last time I saw it. No real thrills or scares, awful acting, and just a sad confirmation that Lady in the Water had not been an anomaly at the time of its release - Shyamalan was in creative free fall. Easily the worst in Shyamalan’s “Apocalypse Trilogy,” while Signs and Knock at the Cabin are two of his very best. And guess what the two good ones had in common that The Happening didn’t? An intimate scale and just a few well-acted characters we actually care about.
15. After Earth (2013)
If not for what’s coming next, a movie as abominable as After Earth would have been an easy choice for last place. Uninteresting plot and universe? Check. Bad acting? Check. Forgettable as sin? Super duper check. Sheesh, watching this one was a total drag. It just felt like Shyamalan had completely sold out at this point, and he utilized none of the qualities that make him interesting in a good way here.
16. The Last Airbender (2010)
Here it is, the worst of them all. A Top 10 worst ever movies pick for me. The Last Airbender is a total disgrace to the show it’s based on - one of the best shows of all time - and putting that aside, it’s still a garbage movie that does pretty much nothing right. It’s ugly to look at, has exceptionally painful acting, godawful pacing, and absolutely zero soul. This was when the world knew for sure that the Shyamalan we all used to love was dead and gone - until he would rise again in a few years…
So, there you have it! A long but fun list to make. I can’t defend some of his terrible work, but I stand by what I said earlier about the world being better off with him doing his thing making movies. For me, Old was really his only bad movie since 2013’s After Earth, and even if he goes on a rough streak again, he’s given us some real gems. I look forward to whatever he puts out next!
I've seen them all, but ranking them is a tad difficult right now. I'd have to revisit several of these films first. I'd probably say that The Sixth Sense and Split are his best and The Last Airbender his worst, although The Lady In The Water has the dubious honour of being the one I absolutely hate.
Hey, that’s part of the fun about Shyamalan movies; everyone’s thoughts are at least a little bit different! I don’t blame you for hating Lady in the Water; it’s a really bad movie by any objective measure, but I did find some moments genuinely hilarious albeit unintentionally. I hope if I try The Happening again I can get a similar experience. But, yes, I just find Shyamalan one of the most fun, interesting directors ever. I know he’s not taken seriously by many, but I do think he’s got a lot of real talent, although has some truly massive missteps of course too.