Reviews of Signs

[MickeyMoose15]

I will be posting my Review of the new Sci-Fi thriller Saturday Evening but I thought that you guys would like to post your reviews of the movie here.

Please Note that No Spoilers will be allowed within this thread. This means no giving away of important clues within the film or the ending itself. This is for the benefit of the people who have not seen the film yet.

THANK YOU!!!

:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy: :king: :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Chad]

As a movie itself, Signs is WONDERFUL. Thrilling, funny, and touching all at the same time..It's amazing what M. Night can do with such LIMITED things, for example...He can use a 20 dollar baby monitor and thrill the pants off you, while other directors would have to resort to thousands of dollars worth of make-up, effects, and other fluff....Yes, thats what I loved about this movie..No fluff..or atleast very little fluff, it was straight-edge entertainment.

As for the Actors....
Mel Gibson still isn't my FAVORITE, but he's pretty darn good in this movie...
River Phoenix's Brother (I forget his name...) Is great, very convincing, and lends some much needed comic relief..

Both of the kids are great, loved them

Oh! And look for M. Night He has a part in the movie...sorta like Alfred Hitchcock used to be in all his movies..only he has a bigger role. I always did think M Night was becoming a modern-day hitchcock.

Anyways, I hope M. Night signs on and stays with touchstone for awhile, I'd love to see him do a werewolf movie, I think he could do amazing things with it...

Comparing Signs to OTHER M. Night movies.....
-It lacks the HUGE plot twist ending Unbreakable and Sixt Sense have.. (I'm not saying the ending is bad or anything.)
-It's much more lighthearted, it's got quite a few jokes and comidic situations..You'll find yourself wetting your pants in fear, then laughing hysterically the next.

- Interesting note: Like all of M. Night's movies, this one also takes place in Philly.

 

[MonorailBlack]

Great movie...very thrilling....a good build up suspense movie...never was sure how it would end

 

[darthdarrel]

I saw it lastnight and it was AWESOME!
Where is M.Night? I don`t remember seeing him in the movie?

 

[MickeyMoose15]

Originally Published August 3rd, 2002

Disney's Signs

Released August 2nd, 2002

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones, Patricia Kalember, M. Night Shyamalan

Screen Writers: M. Night Shyamalan

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Premise: Everything that farmer Graham Hess (Gibson) assumed about the world is changed when he discovers a message an intricate pattern of circles and lines carved into his crops. As he investigates the unfolding mystery, what he finds will forever alter the lives of his brother (Phoenix) and children (Culkin, Breslin).


After a string of failures at the box office for Disney like Bad Company, Reign of Fire, and The Country Bears, they are hoping this will be a sign of better things to come. M. Night Shyamalan has been described as the next Spielberg after the surprising success of The Sixth Sense in 1999 and the cult following of the 2000 film, Unbreakable. Now that he has conquered ghosts and superheroes, he now goes after aliens. Will Signs bring back the same success or better of The Sixth Sense, which debuted in the same weekend in 1999, or will it show the decline of the director's success?

The story goes that a man by the name of Graham Hess, a former minister, has lost his faith after the death of his wife in a car accident. He soon finds that crop circles have appeared in his corn fields but dismisses them as pranks and nothing more. But soon the news from around the world shows the lights from alien space crafts and everything that we had feared about life from other worlds is coming true. An invasion by the life forms looks to happen and now Graham must find the faith within him which is the only way to save his family. The story, which was written by M. Night Shyamalan himself, is nothing but pure majesty. The plot mixes humor in well needed places and for the first time this year, I was scared more during a movie then I had ever been before. And I loved every moment of it. The story doesn't seem long or too short which is a great rarity among the modern feature-length films.

Mel Gibson, who has starred in many great successful films like Braveheart, What Women Want and the Lethal Weapon series, is sure to have another huge hit with Signs. Gibson plays the role of Graham Hess down pat. He plays with so much emotion especially with the scene involving the last supper the family shares together before the alien invasion happens. The tears just stream from his eyes which made the scene just so perfect. The kids in the film were amazingly good. Some cute children will ruin a film but these kids played their roles perfectly making us laugh, cry and scared. Joaquin Phoenix has another great role after the success of Gladiator. You just cheer for him at the very end of the film, which I will not give away in this review. M. Night Shyamalan, who made a cameo appearance in The Sixth Sense, plays a much larger role in Signs and shows that his genius goes beyond directing and writing.

Overall, Signs spells another huge success for director M. Night Shyamalan and actor Mel Gibson. This is the best movie I have seen in 2002 and one of the best films ever made. The scariness and the emotions go way beyond that of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. The music was perfectly scored by James Newton Howard who also scored The Sixth Sense, Dinosaur, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. The opening credit music set us up for the greatness to come and made the credits very interesting to listen to. There are so many things to love about this film that any problems seem ridiculous. Though the ending to the film, which I will not give away, was a bit cheesy but that is what Shyamalan intended. The Sixth Sense delivered a surprise ending but Signs gives you what you should have expected but dismissed it for some surprise ending. The movie is meant to make you think as a movie goer and it does that with excellent flare and style. Signs is sure to remain the top film of the year despite heavy competition from Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers later this year. Make sure you make it your duty to see this film. It would be a crime to miss it. You never know when life from other worlds may visit. You would like to be prepares, right? :animwink:

My Rating: ***** out of 5 (A Perfect Score)

 

[darthdarrel]

LOL! I`d still like to know where M.NIGHt is in the movie! LOL!:lol:

 

[MickeyMoose15]

M. Night Shyamalan seems to make cameos in his own films much like Hitcock did. Look at The Sixth Sense and the doctor that talks to Cole's mother is non other then Shyamalan himself. Shyamalan plays the veterinarian that falls asleep at the wheel and accidently ***SPOILER***







kills Graham Hess' wife while she takes a walk after dinner. He also apparently traps the alien in his pantry closet and he then hints at their weakness by heading to the lake.

 

[Chad]

Well, geez, that was a huge spoiler..ruined the whole ending, hopefully someone doesn't accidently catch parts of that sentence..But yes, Night is their neighbor. I'm not aware of any presence in Unbreakable, or even in his first film, 98's 'Wide Awake'. But I can confirm that they all did take place in or around Philly.

Anywho...
MILD spoilers ahead, read with caution...
The ending and in fact the entire movie had very little to do with Alien life, thats why I think the name 'Signs' is so fitting, its about the presence of a higher power, and how nothing is coincidence, Aliens just provide an element of Thrill, while the ending ties together all the threads that Night strung out over the 104 minutes that the movie plays. Seemingly unimportant 'Signs' (Tell Merrill..Tell Merril to Swing Away....) point to the resolution of the family's emotional and exterristrial problems. Nothing Cheesey in that

 

[Rider]

I liked it. It had some great thriller moments. And somehow, even the parts where you know something will happen (the night in the corn from the trailer) it still gets you.

***SPOILER***

M. Night is the Vet who killed the wife. He plays a major role in this movie.

***END***

 

[MickeyMoose15]

Somebody here please go to the Box Office Mojo Forums and explain this to the idiots over there. They are some that just plain hate the film for no reason and go on and contradict many explainations.

 

[james4023464]

Great Movie, 4 stars out of 4. It was a very well written movie. I can't wait for M. Night's next film. I can't wait till it comes out on dvd(but it won't be as thrilling). Did you notice Macully Culkin's brother was in the movie, he looks just like his brother.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

Yes, I did notice Macully Culkin's brother. It was very scary on how closely they look alike. :lookaroun :lookaroun :lookaroun

 

[MonorailBlack]

Originally posted by MickeyMoose15
Yes, I did notice Macully Culkin's brother. It was very scary on how closely they look alike. :lookaroun :lookaroun :lookaroun

Jeez, thought that was one of the aliens!!!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Anyhow, the movie was written just like a book, beautifully....I like the asthma relation to the alien defense and also the water glasses by the little girl....just a great story full of connections

 

[darthdarrel]

Originally posted by Rider
I liked it. It had some great thriller moments. And somehow, even the parts where you know something will happen (the night in the corn from the trailer) it still gets you.

***SPOILER***

M. Night is the Vet who killed the wife. He plays a major role in this movie.

***END***

OK! Now I know who he is! LOL!:lol:

 

[MickeyMoose15]

When they first meet him, they go "Who is that?" and "Is that him?" like they were talking about Shyamalan himself and not the character. I thought it was pretty funny but apparently the rest of the audience didn't get it the way I did.

 

[Rider]

Originally posted by MickeyMoose15
When they first meet him, they go "Who is that?" and "Is that him?" like they were talking about Shyamalan himself and not the character. I thought it was pretty funny but apparently the rest of the audience didn't get it the way I did.

I was thinking the same thing. :lol:

 

[MickeyMoose15]

I'm glad I'm not the only one out there! :lookaroun