M. Night Shyamalan directs Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette in this supernatural drama about a kid who sees dead people.

I’m more than a fair weather Shyamalan fan but this one, his big breakthrough, never clicked with me. Ponderous and pretentious, it came out during at a dark time when I could only afford to go to the cinema once a month at best. Bruce Willis was probably my favourite movie star back then (still in 1999 … but only just) and The Sixth Sense had had months of hype following its sleeper obliteration of the US box office. That famous twist was frustratingly super guessable. And the movie didn’t seem to have a lot else in the bank. A magic trick that you’ve figured out while the props are being set out. There’s not much more to it. 25 years distance I don’t hate its pointless mechanics quite as virulently. It is well crafted if not particularly scary. Toni Collette is doing a lot of emotional heavy lifting. Bless her heart.

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Perfect Double Bill: Pay It Forward (2000)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin