July, 31, 2004 archives

i’ve already mentioned that i am one of those people that likes m. night shyamalan’s films, so it should be no great surprise that i really enjoyed the village. it’s funny that i compared him to the coen brothers, since this time out roger deakins was his director of photography, who is known for his recent collaborations with the coen brothers. and as you might expect, the cinematography is great. what stood out even more for me, though, was the really excellent sound design. bryce dallas howard was excellent, as was the rest of the cast.

the final twist wasn’t particularly surprising, although that is simply more a function of the story that it is than anything accidentally revealed. i’d say the most disappointing part of the story is the use of a flashback to mix up the order of part of the story, which was distracting — for a while i thought they had simply mixed the reels up. i can understand why it was done, but like i said, it was distracting.

also, i saw the bourne supremacy while on vacation. it was good, although a little stilted. it’s a shame that they spoiled one of the more clever moments in the trailer.