The "Usual Supects" syndrome strikes back!

Rating: 8/10 (27 October 2006)

(r#92)
I will start out by saying that at no point did I not enjoy this ghost story from M. Night Shyalaman, who gets everything right in "Sense" that he got wrong in "Village". It is a very solid thriller, very original in terms of plot, slow-paced but never boring, and it has at least one scene which really freaked me out. The acting is brilliant, Bruce Willis is Bruce as usual, his raspy voice perfect for his troubled character, even though some will find it hard to buy John McClane as a child psychiatrist. Haley Joel Osment continues to prove why he's one of the best child actors working today, putting wide-eyed Dakota Fanning and that mugging kid from "The Omen 666" (or whatever it's called) to shame. His performance is great, neither over-the-top nor underacted, and unlike most of his kind, he's not annoying, thank god. Toni Colette is also very good as the depressed mother, although she was even better in "About a Boy" as a deranged hippie. So overall, an intriguing and often tense film and probably one of the best of a very strong movie year.
But is it really that good? Is it one of the 250 best movies ever made? I enjoyed it so much I'm willing to agree. Although, if you-know-who wasn't you-know-what, there is no way that this flick would be in the top 150. It seems that according to IMDb's questionable rating system, every movie with an ending you can't see coming deserves a 10. Case in point: This movie in the top 250, The Usual Suspects, of all movies, in the top 20, the trashy exploitation flick Saw with a score of 7.6, already being hailed as a masterpiece.
Is a twist ending all the average movie buff craves? Well, 'Manos' the Hands of Fate has a twist ending, I don't see that one on the top 250. Think before you vote, people. Not every movie that goes out with a bang is brilliant. For anyone who has been unlucky enough to discover who *thatdude* really is, The Sixth Sense will be a disappointment. For me, it definitely was. But it's such an enjoyable disappointment I'm willing to give this an 8/10.
PS. What the hell happened, Schyalaman? You went from memorability to mediocrity so fast. You could've really been one of the all time greats, but you screwed it up. Well, at least you provided David Zucker with material with your borefest "The Village".