The Village
reviewed by Brian "the Naked Gun" Felts & Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell

WARNING: THIS MOVIE IS NOT A HORROR MOVIE. IF YOU GO EXPECTING ONE YOU WILL BE SEVERALLY DISAPPOINTED!

M. Night Shyamalans The Village is an interesting movie but has a few flaws that overall make the movie at best mediocre. The main reason for this I think, is that this movie was promoted as a scary movie without substance and that is NOT what Shyamalans movies are about. Because of this I spent the entire time in the movie theater saying to myself, "This doesn't make sense." Combine that with the story flaws and the movie just isn't up to his ability.

The Village is about a village, in 1897, in a valley surrounded by a forest that has unusual creatures that aren't afraid to kill to protect their land. The humans in the village lead by Edward Walker, played by William - Looking for another Academy Award-Hurt, have cut a deal with the monsters named Those we don't speak of, original huh, that if they don't enter the woods the big bad scary things won't enter the valley and eat the people. One of the villagers, Lucius Hunt, played by Joaquin Phoenix, wants to enter the woods to get to the towns on the other side. His mother, Alice, played by Sigourney Weaver, is one of the town elders and does not want Lucius to enter the woods. Lucius main love interest is Ivy Walker, daughter of Edward, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. She is blind but has a strong character and spirit. She watches with her sister the villages children AND the town head case Noah Percy, played by Adrien Brody. Noah has the mind of a child and when he finds out the Lucius and Ivy intend to marry, he enters Lucius's house and stabs him. In order to save Lucius, Ivy asks for and is granted permission by her father to enter the woods and go to the town and get the medicine to save him.

The movie does not sound scary. There are a few moments that are intense and are vintage Shyamalan. However, because the movie was promoted as a thriller and has the least amount of thrills in the three movies of his I have seen (the others being The Sixth Sense and Signs,) it leaves you (me anyway) wanting more thrills and ignoring the story. The story is ok but because of the hype, I kept waiting for something more than I was getting, so it was not enjoyable. I have this feeling that the direction of the hype was a result of the producers and not Shyamalans because he hasn't made this mistake before, at least in the movies I have seen.

The acting was nothing to brag about. Weaver seemed out of place as Joaquin Phoenix's mother. Joaquin was enjoyable again yet since he was on his back the last 30 minutes of the movie, he was not as prominent as the hype suggested. Hurt was to busy looking for an Academy Award in all of his speeches to be enjoyable. Bryce Dallas Howard who I have not seen before did a nice job with the part that was written the best. Brody's character was too annoying for me to care what happened to him. The rest of the cast was just there.

Overall, I want to like this movie more but I can't. The movie was directed well but I think Shyamalan missed the bullseye when it comes to the written part. I also think he should kick the producers ass for promoting it the way they did. If you see this movie just remember the warning and you might enjoy it more.

Brian - the Naked Gun

WARNING: DO NOT READ MY REVIEW IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE HOOK SPOILED FOR YOU. READ IT AFTER YOU SEE IT, BUT IF YOU DON'T CARE READ ON!

M. Night Shyamalan returns for a fourth picture, and possibly his most unusual. Not unusual in the sense that the story is unusual, but rather what its material is REALLY trying to voice and that Hollywood had the balls to fund it.

"The Village" tells the story of a small community in the middle of a woodland area which is surrounded by massive beasts who live in the thick of the surrounding woods. A pack has been established to keep the creatures out of the village and keep the town's people out of their woods as well.

However, kids start dying and Joaquin Phoenix, playing young upstart Lucius Hunt, asks the "elders" of the community for permission to venture through the woodland creatures and seek medical supplies from "the towns."

Of course he is denied. Later he is stabbed and near death from infection, also needing outside medicinal aides. This time it is Ivy Walker, daughter to one of the elders and finance to Hunt, who is allowed to venture into woods, despite having no eyesight.

However, her father, amply played by William Hurt attempting to bounce back to Oscar status, lets her in on a secret. The beasts are fake; invented by the elders to keep their young persons in the confines of the village where innocence can be maintained.

So here's the real giveaway. This 1897 set story actually is taking place in present day, but the elders established this society out of reach of the mean spirited real world. The entire perimeter is surrounded by a wall, guarded by paid employees of the "Walker Nature Reserve," owned by billionaire grandfather of Ivy Walker.

The picture was very well prepared and didn't seem to drag on in the manner Shyamalan usually does. However, the message this still young director who commands more than $20 million a picture is somewhat unusual for an American made picture. The message? With the right set of circumstances, COMMUNISM WORKS.

Ok…. Communism. A handful of persons some twenty years ago are tired of the violence riddling society, so they take no belongings and establish their little village in daddy's land, keeping their children away from the truth and horrors of walking down to 7-11 and seeing someone get shot in a robbery. In the village, they make their own clothes, farm their own crops and no one person has any say over the other. Even women sit on the elders council. However, there is no mayor or elected officials. In fact, there appears to be no democracy present in their little society, thus they deem their way of life "innocent." It is an interesting movie to watch when you realize Shyamalan is saying the only way to make communism work is to scare its citizens and be funded by a huge bankroll.

This in mind. The picture became more interesting as I thought on it. I would recommend seeing it, but if the "reasons" for the elders actions are foggy, than communism is probably a lost concept on you as a viewer. This is where the film fails.

Yes, there are a few jumpy moments like most people would expect in a Shyamalan picture, but overall Brian is right. THIS IS NOT A SCAREY MOVIE, but more a social exercise.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?