Two films... Two Extremes.

I have seen a couple films over the past week that were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. The first film, Whitney and I saw in the theater and frankly, we were reminded why it can be so depressing to spend over eleven dollars a ticket on a film in the box office. We decided to see M. Night Shyamalan's new film, The Happening, on Tuesday night. Even in the midst of a lowly 2 and a half stars on Google, we took the advice from some friends, and belief in M. Night Shyamalan's previous work (The Village, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs) and walked down to the theater. This was a mistake. Now looking at Rotten Tomatoes (a HORRIBLE 19% rating) and laughing through a movie that was not supposed to be funny, I hope that you will never waste two hours of your life on this film... (Or at least wait until you can put in on your Netflix queue!) The premise of the film was brilliant, but as far as the execution of how it came together, especially in the acting, the movie fell apart. After Shyamalan's Lady in the Water, 2006, and now this debacle, I am beginning to wonder if he was lost his touch???

On the other end of the spectrum, Whitney and I saw Lars and the Real Girl last night. Wow! So original, so thought provoking, so creative... This was, as the New York Times reported, the near perfect film with flawless acting. Seeing these two films side by side reminded me of two things. The first is the importance of acting, and second is the unimportance of the potential within original idea. Shyamalan's idea was brilliantly creative, true to our time, and attention grabbing. (The earth balancing back against humans for all that we have done to the planet through the natural processes of plants.) Lars and the Real Girl was about a man's relationship with a plastic sex doll. (Hardly a wealth of potential!) The potential in original ideas did not compare, however the acting of the cast of Lars and the Real Girl brought the film to life, while the acting of the cast in The Happening killed the original idea from the beginning.

I hope that you spend some time with Lars and the Real Girl. A surprise film and one of the top ten films from 2007.