Movie thoughts -- The Village/The Upside of Anger

Today I treated myself to two used DVDs at the video store.

The first is M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, a grossly under-rated film from last year. I had avoided seeing it for a long time because the buzz was not very good and I hadn't liked Night's previous two movies very much. Also, though I adore Joaquin Phoenix and will watch him in anything, I was quite suspicious of Bryce Dallas Howard -- I'd seen Sophia Coppala act and it wasn't pretty -- how good could Ron Howard's daughter really be? Night seems to have two distinct audiences, people like me, who enjoy a well-made movie, and people who like to be scared. The latter were clearly unhappy with the film and the former didn't seem much impressed either. When I finally saw it, I was very pleasantly surprised. I thought The Village had all the elements that had made The Sixth Sense so special -- a great cast, beautiful filming, a subtle story and truly poignant human interactions. Bryce Dallas Howard was perfect in the part -- I should have trusted Night! And the movie is about so much more than it appears on the surface - for example, it portrays a "handicapped" person as capable and well-adjusted. In addition, I thought it was more heartfelt and certainly more romantic than anything else that came out last year. With lines like "The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe. " delivered so beautifully by William Hurt. It really is a hidden treasure.

The other film I bought was a favorite from earlier this year, The Upside of Anger, with the lumious Joan Allen, and Kevin Costner along for the ride. Critics were not kind to this movie and I'm not sure why. I thought the writing and acting were terrific and the story was fresh and engaging. It's rare that family dynamics are handled so authentically.

I'll enjoy watching both of these films again, and lending these previously unappreciated gems to friends who may have missed them.