Lady in the Water (2006, DVD)

Lady in the Water

Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard are absolutely spectacular, and the rest of the supporting cast does a great job as well. A lot of M. Night fans that I've talked to were dissapointed that Lady in the Water doesn't feature a twist ending, I was at first, but I realized that a story this great doesn't need a twist ending.

Lady in the Water will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, and the way all the characters tie together is absolutely fabulous. It might not be M. Nights best work, but he proves once again that he is one of the best Storytellers in Hollywood.

Final Verdict:

5/5

Rent or Buy?: Any M. Night fan will want to own this one, as will any fan of a great fantasy story.

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Really good fantasy film about a mythical lady from the water and the humans that help her to her destination. Imaginative and suspensfull. Great cast that works well together. Great flick to sit down and really watch. Its a popcorn with extra butter movie!
Kiddies no, teens yes.

I first saw this movie in the theater and loved it. It has all the aspects of the traditional bed time story and is directed so wonderfully. You will be wrapped in the story.

An awesome and amazing movie! THIS is one of my FAVORITE M. Night Shamalan's movies and it is truly a good story. The characters are well developed and you want to watch it until the very end...a must see!

Don't pass this movie by, it is well done and the performances and characters are everything you could want in a modern fairy tale that is great for the whole family. I think this is one of M. Night's best works. Leads Giamatti is affecting and inspiring while Howard is beautiful and believable as the innocent Narf. Many surprises, as you would expect from a Shyamallan movie but they are all wonderful and heartfelt.

A film you can watch over and over...highly recommended

M. Night is my favourite director and writer. I love all his movies. I think this movie is one of his best. I know a few people didn't like this movie, but I think that whoever didn't really like this movie just didn't understand it. I cry at the ending every time! I just had to own this one for my collection! Paul Giamatti is awesome in this. I recommend it to anyone who wants to take their imagination all the way over the top! A+++++ movie! :)

It is a touch of fiction with realistic. A movie that takes you out of the ordinary life and step into a fiction vs fact controversy. Makes you ask can this really be real? For those who love M.Knight movies not for those who don't like make believe.

I'm a big fan of M. Night's work. To watch this movie you must understand that it's not suppose to always make sense!!! It was a story he told his daughter, and in truth - it's a wonderful story. With that said..this movie wasn't as good as his other films. He's raised our expectaions to such a high level..this one didn't quite hit the mark.

Alot of people don't like M. Night's movies, but if you look at it as a storytelling adventure, you can get past the need to constantly be wowed by mind blowing special effects. He doesn't need them when a story is this magical!

the movie was boring, the movie did not make any sense, would advise no one to waste their money watching or buying this movie

Very interesting movie If I had to buy it again I would.
I feel that the director did an injustice by starring in his own film.
It was a good movie. I enjoyed it much

Bought it r/t ads when it came out. Wasn't quite what I thought it would be, but,I'm not disappointed. I've seen better movies. It arrived here in perfect condition and in a timely manner. I was satisfied with the time of order to the time of receipt. Over all, I'm satisfied with the movie.

Night has done it again!
Good family movie!
You really want to believe after you watch this video!All the characters did so good it made for a real adventure.I had to watch movie over a second time just so I could put together the real Guardian,guild,healer and the others.After the second time I saw them and I was so thrlled I had to watch again!
For very young children some of the creatures may be a little scarey!Nothing gross or violent and no bad words said through out!
This movie has real people you may even have as the person next door which made the movie so good!
Sorry I don't go into more of the movie itself I think to much told would take away from viewing this film.

I don’t think many people will like this film. I personally LOVED it! It’s defiantly a film that "middle America" will not get or understand. But if you want a film about heart, redemption, a film about what was lost (of the heart) and what is found, then you will love this film too. It’s not a popcorn film, but a character driven film. But be careful, if you watch this film, you may learn something about yourself.

I loved this movie and it came in a really great box with a hologram scene on the front. It is not the best movie of the year, but it has a great story that makes you feel hopeful.

it felt exciting suspenseful and is a feel-good movie in the same way as "signs" by the same writer.

The movie starts off vageuley intriguing but has so many characters it became confusing. The movie was promoted as a thriller. It was instead a fairytale. I am an M. Night fan but this not his best.
The characters were all strange and I never cared what happened to any of them. There were some holes that were filled without explanation or reason. It seemed like they chose who was the guardian by whichever character remained.
I was bored and could not wait for it to be over. I quickly saw why it bombed at the box office.
Find another movie maybe The Sixth Sense or The Village but avoid this one.

I NEVER RECEIVED THIS MOVIE FROM SELLER. I ALSO PURCHASED TWO OTHER MOVIES ALONG WITH THIS ONE WHICH I NEVER RECEIVED EITHER. I SENT SEVERAL EMAILS TO THIS PERSON AND NEVER RECEIVED A RESPONSE. THIS SELLER HAS CHANGED HIS/HER NAME SEVERAL TIMES FROM SHARPIE2158 TO INKJET2158 TO MOTO8333 WITHIN 3 WEEKS. I FILED A CLAIM AND I AM WAITING FOR A RESPONSE. I HAVE REQUESTED A REFUND ON MY PAYMENT SINCE SELLER NEVER SENT ANY OF THE MOVIES I BOUGHT. I ALSO CONTACTED MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY AND FILED A DISPUTE CLAIM.

Normally I like this writer/director but I really think he lost his way on this one. It is hard to feel for the characters, you don't get the sense of the person like M. Night usually does. Nothing to capture and keep you.

At one time M. Night Shyamalan was an exciting film maker. With his first major film, The Sixth Sense, he crafted an interesting and engrossing tale that was well received by the public and critics alike. His next film, Unbreakable, was a bit of a let down, but still a solid effort. Unfortunately his films have continued to decline in quality. The low point in his oeuvre has to be his latest film, Lady in the Water, a bed time story that Night would tell his daughters before they went to sleep. It may have been interesting to a child at night, but as a movie it comes across as a muddled, self-indulgent, and ultimately unsatisfying film that fails on many levels.

There were a lot of things that were wrong with this movie. The characters were flat and lifeless, the story was filled with more false endings than a dozen Spielberg films, and there were numerous plot holes that were hard to ignore. What it boiled down to though was that it's really hard to care what happens to any of the characters. There just isn't any context to place these people into. A good story to compare this to is another fairy tale, The Lord of the Rings. In Tolkien's work, the reader knows exactly where the heroes stand, what they have to do and the consequences for failure. In this film viewers never have that feeling. What happens if the Scrunt kills Story? Well, she'll be dead, but so what? Why did she reveal herself to Heep when she was hiding from him earlier? Why was she hiding? It's questions like this that make it hard to enjoy this film.

Another deficit is Shyamalan's directorial style. I've enjoyed the way he shot other films, but this one looks like something someone fresh out of film school would shoot. He doesn't concentrate on telling the story but rather seeing how many fancy and unique shots he can incorporate into the movie. There are a lot of scenes where the interesting part of the sequence isn't shown in an attempt to build interest. When the acerbic film critic Harry Farber (Bob Balaban) is introduced to a new neighbor, Cindy Cheung, you see Farber's eye's nearly pop out of his skull as he stares at the Asian beauty, though on screen viewers can only see her back. It's cute once or twice, but eventually you start noticing all of Night's film tricks at the expense of the story. These are a constant reminder that you're watching a movie and that makes it much harder to get into the story and empathize with the characters.

The acting was only mediocre at best too. In order to make Paul Giamatti's character more human, Night decided to give him a stutter. This may have looked good on paper, but in the movie it just seems oddly irritating. Bryce Dallas Howard's talents are not put to use either. She spends much of the film sitting in a shower, and when she talks she always whispers. She has a vague drugged look throughout the movie. Pretty much all she does is stare off into space. Night himself gives an amateur performance as the savior of mankind. The only character that I was really drawn to was Bob Balaban's as the arrogant film critic. His role was funny but suggests that Night needs to learn the meaning of subtlety.

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I am sure the movie is fine, but since the "dealer" who received payment for my purchase of the DVD, ripped me off and didn't send it to me, I can't whole heartedly recommmend the movie without actually seeing it.

I loved this movie. The theme was extremely envoking. The characters were played out very well. It leaves you guessing - it's like a virtual puzzle - placing pieces together and such. One of the best movies ever - Shamalan is a genius!

I loved this one so much I had to watch it again right away. Very original story and creative. I loved all the twists that kept you guessing what would be next. Awesome evil creature that really scares you. Love how they made an Asian bedtime story come true. Definitly a keeper!

I am sorry but I actually like the lead actress in this movie and have loved her other performances but this movie was a huge diappointment. The plot was all over the place and the background information to bring you up to speed was really sketchy. Suffice it to say I fell asleep half way through and had to watch it again, even then had to fight to keep my attention on this movie. Not at all reccommended.

I liked the movie because it had twists & turns to it. It was imagative, creative, and kept ya wondering. I didnt like the fact that it didnt give more to the story, needed to watch the extras to understand everything. I bought it because it was written and directed by M. Nightshylamar