Best Movie of the Year!

Rating: Null/10 (3 August 2002)

Okay people. I've read some of the viewer comments here, and some people don't get it. (the movie). This is not an action movie per se, this is not a horror movie, or a sci-fi movie. This is a movie that plays on our fears and has an underlying message.
Some of you say, Shayamalan uses cheap effects, or borrows from other movies. Well, I believe that is his whole point. What if all those cheezy things we see or hear about were real? The crop circles, the lights in the sky, the green men? He definitely does use inspiration from other movies, like War of the Worlds, the Blair Witch Project but he's not doing it in a cheap (i have no original ideas of my own, so i'll borrow theirs) way. He's doing it almost as an homage, and saying all those fears are now real. "They're" coming.
Shayamalan brilliantly plays on our fears of loud noises, shadows, and the unknown. He uses humour to relieve some of the tension. He also brilliantly ties everything together, and leaves you thinking at the end of the movie.

All the actors are wonderfully cast. Joaquin Phoenix always being a favourite with me. By the way, I'm sure Shayamalan was not trying to portray Gibson as a 'catholic' priest. He must have been episcopalian as he had children and a wife.
Shayamalan is one of the best things to happen in the movie industry. And to place himself in the movie...what's wrong with that? When you're writer/director/producer...can't you take a little liberty? But to say that he sticks out like a sore thumb is a little harsh...and has an unattractive racist tone.