the best director out there

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2002)

Once can be a fluke. twice a coincidence. but three times a charm. I saw signs this past weekend and I think the movie solidifies M Night Shyamalan as the best director working today.
the movie is utterly orignal - creepy and completely engrossing, just as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakble were before it. I absolutely love watching this man's movies so much - every shot is so carefully chosen and its a joy to watch.
Shyamalan also has some sort of ability to draw out wonderfully understated and subtle performances from his stars, particularly his leading men. as he di with Willis in Sixth Sense and even more so (i thought) in Unbreakable - Shyamalan gets a wonderfully pained and subtle performance from Mel Gibson. It is easily his best work at least since Braveheart and maybe ever. He communicates his feelings more with his eyes and his face than with anything he says and its great to watch. Joaquin Phoenix was one of the best actors around before this movie and deserves the title even more after this movie. he is a bona fide scene stealer and is really fun to watch on screen.
Also as he did with Haley Joel Osment in Sixth Sense and with Spencer Treat Clark in Unbreakable - he gets wonderful performances from his child actors. Abigail Breslin - who plays Gibson's daughter Bo is adorable and sad at the same time and Rory Culkin (yes, one of THOSE culkins) is downright creepy and fairly amazing as Gibson's son Morgan.
The movie is completely engrossing from start to finish and ***spoiler*** the scene where the whole family is locked in the basement is one of the best cinematic scenes I have ever seen. As long as this guy's desire to write and direct (and even star in) movies doesn't dwindle - i will be one very happy movie fan.
**** and a half stars out of 5