This one really did surprise me in the end.

Watching a bad movie fucks up my mood, just like seeing a good movie makes me love life a bit more.
But what fills me up with endless JOY is to see a movie that I expect to be bad, and it turns out to be just great.
"The Village", Shalayman's latest, is one of those flicks that surprised me so much it just made my day.
The acting is great, the photography is very interesting, featuring his (in)famous takes where just a nudge of the camera will scare the hell out of everyone.
The story is complex, full of twists, but as you watch, it reveals itself simple, poetic and humane. It's amazing how he moves the focus of the story so seamlessly from one character to the other.
It is also amazing to see how the writer and director has freed himself from the chains of supernormal-alien-pseudo-x-files fiction, and how he ironizes even that expectation that you and I have from him, with this plot. Yes, the ending is surprising, yet unlike "The 6th Sense", I want to watch this one again, regardless of knowing the end, just to try and notice more of the careful details hidden everywhere.
Now don't go see it expecting some art movie, of course it's still a 60 million dollar production, and still holds much appeal to the masses. Although I think most of it is believable, there are certain things that push the envelope a bit too far.
Still, poetry is what differs a good commercial movie from the rest. And "The Village" has plenty of it.

... oh yeah, and Bryce Dallas Howard, HOLY SHIT.