I thought it was high time that I hit some of the M. Night Shyamalan movies that I've purposely avoided for one reason or another. First up is The Village. The only thing I know about the movie isn't the content of the film but more about how the majority of people crapped on this when it first came out. As for spoilers, I never paid attention to them, so I was basically coming into this as if the movie were being released today.

So why did I stay away from his movies for so long? Well, I was a huge fan of The Sixth Sense, so I had a lot of hope for Unbreakable, which at the time just did not sit well with me at all. Same for Signs. After being let down in both cases, I just decided to give up on him as a film maker. I have since softened my stance on both films, as they aren't as bad as I remembered them to be. So, I was curious to see where The Village would rank alongside them. I think the movie looked great and I didn't have any problems with the acting either. I thought Bryce Dallas Howard was fantastic in the role of Ivy and I particularly liked William Hurt, especially his monologue scene. Everyone else including Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver and Cherry Jones did a solid job as well.

So, what about the story itself? Well, I suspected all along that the 'Creature' myth was in fact being perpetuated by the collective elders of this small "Amish" town they all lived in. Even with this knowledge, I still found the whole premise somewhat intriguing. As the film was playing itself out, I saw every turn coming a mile away. But since I was picking this apart with ease, I was hoping the M. Night was smart enough to go somewhere with it and that in itself would be 'the twist'. I will say that the big reveal, it turning out to just be something akin to The Truman Show, with its closed off town set in present day was kinda so-so. Been there, done that. In the end, it was kind of pointless, especially making Ivy stumble through the woods at the risk of harm to herself. This just didn't make sense. I get that William Hurt's character wants to keep up the facade of his little community from the outside world, but not at the chance that something bad could happen to his own daughter. Would you? Of course not. Even though she was told of the secret, she still had to trespass a great distance, nearly falling to her death and of course the "Creature" as well.

I dunno. I think the first 2/3 of the movie was great, its just the final act does make everything before it seem pointless to me. I think it's worth a Rent. Would I ever watch this again? Maybe if I come across it on cable and their is nothing else on I might. The movie is definitely not perfect. Far from it. But I don't think it should be dismiss outright either. I do get the hate though, especially back in the day when M. Night was 'the next Big Thing' that continuee to drop the ball with so much potential exhibited in The Sixth Sense.

I think Shymalan can work with actors, edit and direct some good storytelling. But his inventive results tend to insult the audience. I think he lost his mojo. Believe me, it gets worse from The Village. Devil does bring him back a little to ground level, but I think he has a lot to prove to audiences.