'Lady in the Water,' 'Clerks II,' 'My Super Ex-Girlfriend' and 'Monster House'
8:05 a.m. Friday, July 21, 2006
Like Hitchcock or Kubrick, M. Night Shyamalan is a brand name.
Viewers have come to expect much from the writer-director of films such as "Signs" and "The Sixth Sense" - brooding, otherworldly thrillers with twist endings. "Lady in the Water" offers all that and more ... and a lot less. The movie finds Paul Giamatti as an apartment superintendent who rescues a water nymph from his pool. Together with the other oddball tenants, he must find a way to return the woman home while protecting her from creatures that seek to destroy her. Shyamalan conceived the tale as a bedtime story told to his daughters. This fairy tale quality makes an awkward transition to the screen, resulting in a unique piece that is also overbearing, convoluted and just plain weird. This noble failure of a movie isn't the type of bedtime story that will put you to sleep or give you nightmares. It's one that will keep you awake and confused for a while.
Also opening in theaters this week is "Clerks II," indie filmmaker Kevin Smith's foul-mouthed and funny followup to his 1994 hit. Set a decade later, malcontents Dante and Randal move to different dead-end jobs at a hamburger chain, but they also begin to take steps toward a more mature future.
Uma Thurman plays a super-powered, super-possessive crime fighter in "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," which comedically ponders what would happen if a regular guy (played by Luke Wilson) dumps the superhero he's been dating.
And the animated "Monster House" follows three kids who discover that a feared neighborhood house isn't just spooky, it's actually a living beast that eats anything that gets near it.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)