Thursday, September 10, 2015

Movie Review: "The Sixth Sense" (1999)

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Movie"The Sixth Sense"
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Year: 1999
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a child psychologist who has taken an interest in the case of a young boy named Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), who claims he can see dead people. 

We saved the best for last.

"The Sixth Sense" is the incredible, breakthrough film from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan. This movie garnered a fitting six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. It's the reason why we still hope, even after a series of horribly bad movies like "The Last Airbender" and "After Earth," that somewhere buried deep within Shyamalan, he still has the ability to make a good, if not great movie. We know you can do it, M, don't let us down!

Bruce Willis plays Dr. Malcolm Crowe. He is a child psychologist and his primary focus is on a young boy named Cole Sear, played by a very young, very adorable, doe-eyed Haley Joel Osment. Cole's case is very similar to one Malcolm had many years prior, a case where he was unable to help the young boy and things got very ugly. He hopes this time, the situation with Cole will be different, and thinks maybe he can redeem the mistakes he made in the past by now helping Cole. But when Cole tells Malcolm his real problem is that he's seeing dead people, including being able to communicate with them, Malcolm starts to think Cole is a lost cause as well and is most likely a paranoid schizophrenic. As Malcolm reexamines his previous case, it starts to look like Cole might be telling the truth, and now he must find a way to help Cole help the ghosts. Ghosts, communicating with the dead, and the patented M. Night Shyamalan twist? What's not to love?

This is, simply put, an astounding, shocking, fantastic film, and one that we really love, even many years later. Anyone who knows anything about the movie will recall there is a big twist in the story, and even on repeat viewings and knowing the twist, we can still enjoy the expert craftsmanship of this movie. M. Night Shyamalan hasn't always been a lost cause. It is really wonderfully shot with some staggeringly great cinematography. There is a lot of little details which were taken into strong consideration while filming, and these small details add up and are not lost on us as audience members. For example, the way that color is used to denote certain things in the plot is a major detail we have come to both respect and admire, but never giving too much away at once. The lighting and soundtrack create a great mood throughout the film. It's also very well acted. Haley Joel Osment is fantastic as Cole. Besides being a cute, likable kid, he showed an acting ability far beyond his years. Toni Collete plays Cole's mother Lynn, and she is excellent as well. Collette is able to show a tremendous, wide display of emotion as a loving mother, but one who struggles with having a son with possible mental or emotional problems. Both she and Osment earned Oscar nominations for their performances, and though Bruce Willis did not, he is also great as Dr. Malcolm Crowe.

Not only is "The Sixth Sense" a brilliant film, but it has held up well over the years, even though everyone and their mother probably knows how it will end. It is definitely worth a watch because it is one of those films we feel everyone must see, especially those who love anything and everything cinema. It has a little bit of everything as an eerie ghost story with a compelling human interest, some creepy chills and expert craftsmanship. The definition of a 10/10 film!

My Rating: 10/10
BigJ's Rating: 10/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!
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One year ago, we were watching: "The Purge: Anarchy"

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