Curious thriller closes lackluster year for movies.

Rating: Null/10 (2 January 2001)

2000 may be one of the most humdrum years for movies since, I don't know- the 1970's! M. Night Shyamalan's UNBREAKABLE was a compelling 2000 entry, but not quite up to snuff. Bruce Willis plays a stadium security guard who gains a sixth and seventh sense (Sorry, had to do it.) He is able to survive an inescapable disaster unscathed and he can tell what's on your mind. This brings about an interesting turn in his relationship with his son, his estranged wife, and a creepy art dealer (Samuel Jackson) Shyamalan will never get a job at MTV or for the Fox Channel, because his films are slowly and methodically paced. The man cares enough for his audience and lets scenes slowly soak in. I have to say the film does wander about aimlessly until the last segments, where Willis is in a train station, and he can read the minds of most of the people passing him by. This causes him to investigate a total stranger, a seemingly normal looking man who has a frightening secret. Not the slickness and cleverness of SIXTH SENSE, but a neat time at the theatre or video rental.