M Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense
For M Night Shyamalan's breakthrough, The Sixth Sense (1999), the
twist ending worked well, adding another level to an already decent
film. Repeated to good effect in Unbreakable (2000), the surprise
ending became the director's signature. But with Signs (2002) it was
losing its novelty, or more accurately, it was becoming problematic as
there's no way Shyamalan could keep delivering entirely effective
twists. Signs had its moments, but the end result was a pompous and
ludicrously illogical film. And the twist ploy felt forced.
With The Village, Shyamalan continues to paint himself into a corner.
People expect the twist, but unfortunately the filmmaker seems to have
become a slave to it. The Village is a film based more on a pitch than
on a fully realised idea and solid storytelling. It's the high concept
backfiring.
The fact that Shyamalan seems to be trapped and / or intent upon
remaining 'the guy who does twist endings' is an exasperating
situation - as in many ways he's a skilled filmmaker, adept with
atmosphere and visuals, and able to elicit worthwhile performances
from actors. Perhaps he should relinquish some control next time round
and allow someone else to write a decent script.
The premise here concerns an isolated rural community who live a
simple, Amish-style life of farming and horticulture. The idyll is
compromised, however, by the fact that the villagers can't venture
into the surrounding woods because of "those we don't speak of".
Furthermore, the village elders - Hurt's Ed...
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...n uttering "She is moved by love. The world is moved
by love. It kneels before it in awe." Ron Howard's daughter - the top
billed, largely unknown Bryce Dallas Howard - also gives an
interesting performance as the eccentric Ivy. Oh, and those wondering
about Shyamalan's egotistical insistence on a cameo, well, that's
probably covered by the distributor's gagging order, which more
importantly stops us from fully appraising the film's themes here, as
mention of them would give away that all-important ending.
Verdict
Not as clever as it thinks it is, its classy feel compromised by
smugness, this is Shyamalan getting predictable. It's an insult to the
intelligence that the director and his purse-string holding cohorts
think the much-vaunted twists are enough, when a film is so lacking in
genuine narrative smarts.
While I'm out helping to keep the village running with the other males, my child attends school within the village so that he too can become a valuable member of our society. In school he learns our culture's tradition and folklore.
George Romero's reinvention of the zombie in night of the Living Dead (1968) is clearly a critique of elements of the American society, and the film as a whole is easily twisted into a warped view on the 'American Dream'. Themes throughout Romero’s film, dealing with controversial topics during the time that the film was made, are still, to this day debated by critics and film historians. Themes of racism and war are defined within the movie, hidden underneath the idea of carnal, cannibalistic zombies and over the top heroes who, eventually, succumb to the reanimated; despite their every effort. These themes are colored over and painted to hide beneath subtle references to the typical American Dream during this time, and Romero does quite the good job at it too. This dream, whilst continuously changing in the everyday lives of modern Americans, can be loosely defined as a national ethos of the United States, or a set of ideals dealing with freedom and the opportunity for success - an upward social status that can be achieved through hard work and effort.
The emotional thriller, The Village, is about an isolated town that bases their lives around the 19th century, Amish country. The village has highly secured borders and outside the borders “those we don’t speak of” live and it’s an unspoken truce that the other won’t cross the borders. But the town soon turns upside down when Lucious Hunt breaches the borders to find medicine after the death of Edwards’s son. The writers and producers of this movie express symbolism of the fear of the unknown, the loss of innocence, and through the use of colors.
Paranoia has always been an enemy to me in the darkness. This irrational fear has accounted for many sleepless nights, and horror only fuels the fire. Yet, I am still captivated by something that produces such unpleasant results. The culprit just might be one thing-- the characteristics, events, and situations that humans all share that are the ingredients to what makes things such as emotions and ambitions exist; otherwise known as the human condition. Based on these two notions, it is safe to say that in the article “Why We Crave Horror,” Stephen King is correct in claiming that humans crave horror to display some sort of bravery, to reassure feelings of normality, and simply for the fun of it.
The main character in the book Divergent is a girl named Beatrice. Beatrice is developed throughout the book by having to do things that push her out of her comfort zone. Beatrice was born in the faction of Abnegation, where everything is simple and alike. Abnegation values selflessness, but Beatrice doesn’t feel like she is selfless. She decides to change to the faction of Dauntless, who values courage. Beatrice has to do things like jump off trains, and fight people to show she is courageous. She decides to start going byTris, because Beatrice won’t fit in with the dauntless. When Beatrice makes the decision to be a dauntless she says “My fathers eyes burn into mine with a look of accusation’. This is because it was selfish of her to choose to be a Dauntless. Beatrice doesn’t like to be told what to do, and will stand up for what she thinks is right. Beatrice tries to be kind to others, but sometimes she just can’t control herself.
The film, Vertigo (1958) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is classified as a genre combination of mystery, romance, suspense and thriller about psychological obsession and murder. Filmed on location in San Francisco and on the Paramount lot in Hollywood, California in 1957, the cultural features of the late 1950’s America were depicted in the films mise en scène by costume and set designs current for that time period. The film was produced at the end of the golden age of Hollywood when the studio system was still in place. At the time Vertigo was produced, Hollywood studios were still very much in control of film production and of actor’s contracts. Hitchcock’s groundbreaking cinematic language and camera techniques has had great impact on film and American popular culture and created a cult following of his films to this day.
2001 takes a long-term view of development, human and otherwise. The story traces the development of man from man-ape. Uniquely, 2001 considers not only the evolution that has led to the development of man, but also the evolution that man might undergo in the future. 2001: A Space Odyssey explores technological innovation, its possibilities and its perils.
Allen Moore’s sordid depiction of twentieth century life presents a complex world, where the distinction between a virtuous hero and a villainous wrongdoer is often blurred. In stark contrast to the traditionally popularized portrayal of superheroes, whose unquestionably altruistic motives ultimately produce unrealistically idealized results; the realistically flawed characters of Watchmen exist in a multi faceted world characterized by moral ambiguity. America’s imperialistic ambitions have long been justified as an expression of American idealism. Much like the portrayal of superheroes in popular culture, America’s intervention in foreign affairs was portrayed as the result of a clearly defined problem, where American intervention was necessary and consensual. The Watchmen exist in an American reality that does not depend on them as the archetypal hero as demonstrated by the fact that their presence is not necessary to the survival of the world. Collectively the characters of Watchmen parallel the tumultuous relationship that as a superpower the United States of America has with the rest of the world.
Could you imagine yourself growing up as a child and being forced to grow up with a big secret? A secret so big that you cannot even tell those that are closet to you, because you fear that they will not believe you. What would you do? How would you wake up every day, knowing that the secret is only causing you discomfort and loneliness?
The book uses fictional documents, such as book excerpts, news reports, and hearing transcripts, to frame the story of Carietta "Carrie" White, a 17-year-old girl from Chamberlain, Maine. Carrie's mother, Margaret, a fanatical Christian fundamentalist, has a vindictive and unstable personality, and over the years has ruled Carrie with an iron rod and repeated threats of damnation, as well as occasional physical abuse. Carrie does not fare much better at her school where her frumpy looks, lack of friends and lack of popularity with boys make her the butt of ridicule, embarrassment, and public humiliation by her fellow teenage peers.
The Shining is about a white middle class dysfunctional family that suffers from natural and supernatural stresses in an isolated Rocky mountain hotel. .The father, a former teacher turned writer, is portrayed as a habitual drinker, wife- and child-abuser, with a kind of evil streak The mother is shown as a battered woman. The film suggests that due to the abuse at the hands of his father and the passivity of his mother, the child of this family developed psychological problems. He had imaginary friends and began to see frightening images.
Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck star in this mystery/thriller that dabbles in psycho-analysis and the troubles of the mind. Constance Peterson is a renowned psycho-analyst, whose ability to analyze data is unquestionable, but who has no life outside of her work. This all changes the day the new Chief of Staff, Dr. Edwardes (Peck) arrives. It is love at first site, and Constance’s barriers break down in a flash.
Entrails torn from the body with bare hands, eyes gouged out with razor blades, battery cables, rats borrowing inside the human body, power drills to the face, cannibalism, credit cards, business cards, Dorsia, Testoni, Armani, Wall Street; all of these things are Patrick Bateman’s world. The only difference between Bateman and anybody else is what is repulsive to Bateman and what is repulsive to the rest of the world. Bateman has great interest in the upper class life, fashions, and social existence, but at the same time he is, at times, sickened by the constant struggle to be one up on everybody else. On the other hand Bateman’s nightlife reveals a side of him never seen during the day. Bateman is relaxed, impulsive, and confident while torturing and killing. He doesn’t have to worry about being better than anyone else. The only competition he has is his last victim. Torture and murder are the two true loves of Patrick Bateman.
The beginning of this book puzzles the reader. It doesn't clearly state the setting and plot in the first chapter; it almost leaves the mood open to how the reader interprets it. In the romance story The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks, the plot then shifts from a nursing home to a small town -- New Bern, North Carolina. It baffles the reader so much that it urges one to read on. The romance of Noah and Allie in this book is so deep and complex that it will bring a tear to the eye of any reader.
Our world has been plagued by racism before biblical times. Two of the most inhumane outgrowths of racism are detribalization and slavery. During the nineteenth-century European Imperialism, racism led to many acts of inhumanity by Europeans, particularly in Africa. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness presents us with a fictional account of these inhumane acts in Africa illustrating that racism and its outgrowths are the most cruel examples of man's inhumanity to man.