Wednesday, May 18, 2011

(For Wednesday 5/18) The Sixth Sense - 1999

There are a LOT of people who think this is one of the creepiest movies they've seen. Mostly for the same reason why Steven King is such a great author - sometimes you don't see the forest through the trees. You get to the end of this movie and you think "CRAP, I NEED TO RETHINK EVERYTHING I JUST WATCHED!"

But here's what makes the movie great...the acting. Truly. This film didn't need sweeping vistas or tons of blood and gore. There's a little blood and gore, but primarily it gets into your head and makes you question whether or not you saw what you thought you did. And I have to say that Haley Joel Osment made the film. They needed a child actor who could pull off creepy and odd and still make you want to protect him. That's not easy. When I saw this the first time, I was just blown away. I watched it this time and I tried to find things wrong - tried to find moments where either Willis or Osment were less then stellar - and I couldn't.

Haley Joel Osment plays a little boy named Cole who (sorry to sound cheesy here) sees dead people. They come to him and want him to do things to help them end their lives - do things for them in some cases that they left undone. Sometimes they just hang around him. Bruce Willis plays the counselor Malcom Crowe who is charged with helping him through these issues. Without giving away the big shocker moment, you watch the film and you think "this man is this child's only hope" and as in so many cases when you have a strong character for a child, it is not you who saves the child - it is the child who saves you.

It should also be noted that this was M. Night Shaymalan's crowning moment.

The IMDB Link

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