Review of Lady in the Water (2006) by Richardd. — 24 Jul 2006

[***SPOILER***] As an experienced movie viewer, and self-esteemed critic, compared to the other movies I've seen this year, (Pirates of the Carribean 2, The Omen, among others...) this movie was a breath of fresh air.

Here's where it is different from those others...it was hilarious, it was of appropriate length, the acting was great (except for the girl who played story...she didn't really impress), the plot was involved and actually went somewhere.

I hated this movie for it's lack of the trademark Shyamalan twist, and yet I loved every minute of it. This movie is not "The Sixth Sense 5" as many expected. This movie stands alone as a great work, and Paul Giamatti stands as one of my favorite actors of the day.

For all the critics who say "Shyamalan just wanted to justify his own work by casting himself as a writer whose work will eventually influence a great leader of the future (forecasted by the narf).

" Now, OK, I would have agree with those critics about that prior to seeing the movie, but now after watching it, I really think he's just giving a giant middle finger to those critics. And if directors are not allowed to make a movie of their own.

..not allowed to involve creative spirit in the process of making the movie, then we will be left with a myriad of movies just like The Omen...plastic, pre-packaged copies of the same movies over and over again.

Justification? One of the characters of the Lady in the Water, Mr. Ferber, is a fervent, realistic movie critic. One of the finest lines of the movie comes directly from his mouth: "Originality doesn't exist in Hollywood anymore.

" Shyamalan just said in six words what I have rambled about for an eternity in this post - that he made an original movie. Show me a movie you think is related to this one, and I'll tell you how you are wrong.

I stand by Shyamalan as one of the premier directors of today, picking up where Spielberg, Lucas, and other great directors of the past four decades have left off. (Honestly, what was the last good Spielberg flick you saw?) I am a creative mind, and I respect others with creative purpose.

See any movie by Darren Aronofsky and you will agree (I can't wait to see the Fountain).