The Village **1/2
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Judy Greer
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Running Length: 1:48
MPAA Classification: PG-13

M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie takes us to the late-19th century town of Covington. A town surrounded by woods that have creatures prowling in them. It seems that the townspeople have an understanding with these creatures: if the townspeople stay out of their woods, they will stay out of their town. And so, this community has thrived safely for many years. But, there are younger folk in the village that think they can safely pass through the woods into the outer towns if their intentions are pure. They reason that the creatures will see this pureness and let them pass. This is the argument that Lucius (Phoenix) presents to the elders. Of course, the elders forbid it, fearing for not only his safety, but the villagers' as well. When Those We Don't Speak Of enter the village one night, the elders take this as a sign that they must stay out of the woods. Soon it becomes a matter of life or death that the blind girl Ivy (Howard) pass throught the woods on a quest to the towns, and she must muster up her courage to deal with the beings in the woods.

If you have seen the trailer for this movie, and thing you know what the movie is about, you are wrong. There are few scary moments in this movie, but they are very effective. Instead, the movie focuses on the love triangle (of sorts) between Lucious, Ivy, and the town idiot Noah (Brody). Their relationship drives the events of the movie, and all three do an excellent job with their characters. The biggest role of the three, surprisingly, is Ivy's. Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter), in her first starring role is what makes this movie work. As for the expected Shuamalan twists, there are two. One did not surprise me and one sort of did. There is no revelation here along the lines of "The Sixth Sense", and that is probably what everyone will be waiting for. Despite the good acting, there really is not too much here. It is not a bad film, but it is not great either. Instead, it falls somewhere in the OK range. Unfortunate, but at least it gives Howard a platform to show that she has what it takes to be a great actress.