Signs (2002) (1 Viewer)

[Troy_M]

To ease everyone's anticipation for this movie, I will say the following: THIS MOVIE SUCKS! There is no getting around it....it just plain sucks! It is pointless and boring and the thing that angered me the most was the fact that so much tension and suspense was built up just to let you down at the end. This M. Night Shyamalan guy has lost his gift, or maybe he never had it. I loved The Sixth Sense, I thought Unbreakable was pretty weak, and this movie just plain sucks! I will admit, it had good acting, but the plot of the movie just voided out all of the good acting. What a disappointment. I could have come up with a more interesting plot than this. I'm mad I wasted my time with this mess. The funny thing is this, I know a lot of you are going to see the movie anyway, go ahead, I would do it too(I trust no one). Reviewers these days diss the good movies and praise the bad ones, so view at your own risk, I know some people are going to like this dull and disappointing movie.

 

[Rollie]

He plays Father Graham Hess, a man of the
cloth who has questioned his faith and left the
church after his wife is killed in a a car accident.
He's a timid man who doesn't swear and doesn't drink.

His name is Harvey Keitel, the movie, From Dusk Till Dawn.
Just Kidding.

 

[Ruth_F]

That's a valid point but the staying power of The Sixth Sense in its theatric run could not have been all due to first-time viewers but repeated goers, I would think. The suprise ending element washes away after the second viewing.

the repeat viewings was also due in large part to the ending, because it made you want to see it again to see what clues you overlooked.

by the way i saw signs on monday...it is not the film the trailer makes you think it is....but i enjoyed it a great deal. the kids are GREAT...

 

[Ruth_F]

If the trailers accurately reflect the movie, it just seems like another 'slimy things jump out at you and scream really friggin loud' movie, which has been done to death. Personally, I'm tired of movies trying to scare me with sudden, ear shattering sound effects. Maybe I'm wrong (and for MKS's sake, I hope so), but "Signs" looks like just another alien thriller.

the trailers do not accurately reflect the movie, which was fine with me because I HATED the trailers. but i do think the trailer is a big gamble because it does make everyone think they are seeing an alien thriller.

instead it is a story about a family, with sci-fi thrown in

 

[Seth Paxton]

Well, I want to go on record as saying the trailers make me think that this film involves a lot of IMPLIED horror/action that isn't really in the film.
I haven't read any spoilers, but I was telling Tino the other day that I thougth the cornfield bit in the trailer was a deliberate trick that implied an attack but is really just an animal (pig I think) jumping out at him, typical of tension thrillers (usually it's a cat jumping out).
Add to that the under the door with a knife and I just notice a lot of "Boo" without showing anything. That tells me that there is less alien horror than some people are expecting.
Of course some of you already know if this is true or not, but I've skimmed over any potential spoiler talk for now.
I just wanted to say that I don't think EVERYONE'S expectations of this film are the same.

 

[Jack Briggs]

I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of silly posts about "crop circles" in After Hours.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

You've got that right, Jack. There will also be more than a few "psychic visions" and "channeling" posts, too. The movie is full of that rubbish.

 

[Chad Parks]

I saw Signs last night, so I think I can react to what some are saying here. Firstly, do NOT go into this film thinking you are going to see a Sci-Fi film. It just isn't that type of film, the focus is on the main characters and their experience, and is a rather 'personal' film in that regard. The movie is heavy on characterization (a good thing), so you REALLY do care about these people once the heavy plot stuff starts going down in the third act.

I think the film was far better than I had anticipated. The child actors were VERY good (bad child actiing is one of my pet peeves), and I though Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix had good chemistry together. The only actiing performance I thought was horrible was M. Night Shyamalan's extended cameo (he was only in two scenes though).

This movie is suspenseful and builds tension quite effectively I thought. I do think the ending is going to be unsatisfying to some people. It's direct, and fits the tone of the rest of the film quite well. People should consider THIS film his tribute to Hitch, not 'The Sixth Sense'...

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

People should consider THIS film his tribute to Hitch, not 'The Sixth Sense'...

A tribute to Hitchcock! Now you are really raising some expectations, including mine.
~Edwin

 

[Chad Parks]

Well, I thought the film was very effective in what it was trying to do. It's not pure drama, suspense, or sci-fi--but it has elements of all of those films. I think many people (some already said so above) will be bored with 'Signs' because its pace, and not like the ending.

I was not one of those people.

 

[Ruth_F]

Chad said:

People should consider THIS film his tribute to Hitch, not 'The Sixth Sense'...

Now my challenge to everyone is this....is the ads that much different than TSS, which seem to focus exclusively on a sci-fi aspect, but when you were watching the movie (until the end) it PRIMARILY felt like a story about the little boy's situation, along with bruce's.

My point is that this might be closer to TSS then we give it credit for. With that movie, the ending blows everyone away....and in a way the ending of this movie ties everything back together in a sci-fi manner. I just think the idea of alien fighting from the trailers is throwing everyone off.

 

[Mike Graham]

Can't help but have exceeding high expectations for this film (a very bad thing) - I thought The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were fantastic pieces of work that stand up extremely well to repeat viewings. I'm also glad to hear that Signs will actually come to a conclusion that fits all that comes before it. August 2nd can't come fast enough!

 

[James_G]

I found Signs to be a pretty entertaining film. While most ofthe scares were of the 'BOO!' variety, the one scene that stuck with me was the Brazilian camcorder sighting. That just freaked the hell out of me. Shivers were going up and down my spine for a good minute or two after the scene played out...I just couldn't get the image of that creature darting by out of my mind. It was the combination of music, children screaming bloody murder, realistic camera motion, and Joaquin's reaction that got to me. Creepy, creepy stuff.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

the one scene that stuck with me was the Brazilian camcorder sighting.

 

[Justin_S]

I love good creepy scenes, so thanks for raising my anticipation for this film even higher, James_G! If that is the scene I think it is that they set up in some of the TV spots, then I knew that scene's set up just sounded great!

 

[Joe michaels]

Perhaps you missed Ron's subsequent post in this thread where he downgraded his rating from 4 to a 3.

Yeah, I did miss that.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Signs". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.
All HTF member film reviews of "Signs" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Crawdaddy

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Having just seen it, Signs is nothing more than a glorified B movie with an A-list star and fairly well known director and supporting actor (Joaquin Phoenix). It tries to be too many things as punctuated by Shyamalan’s desire to act in his own film. In the process, the film looses its focus. He should just stick with directing and leave the acting to the more seasoned performers.
The key to enjoying the film is to not ask too many questions. It is meant to be enjoyed in a vacuum. Once you start asking those questions, the logic and the science start falling apart.
The crowd reaction at the screening I attended was mixed with a few applause in the end and one even calling it better than Minority Report. But I caught another gentleman behind us saying, “Is that it?” with another complaining about its ending. Based on the posts in this thread and elsewhere, it appears that the responses it is tilting more towards the unfavorable side.
But based on these mixed reactions, it is best to judge it for yourself.
~Edwin

 

[Brad M]

I have to add my two cents. I loved this movie. Mel Gibson did a great job. The crowd added to the experience as well. People were freaked out, there were screams and cheering near the end. IMHO, if you liked TSS & Unbreakable, you will like this film. Go see it for yourself.

 

[Mike Graham]

Ebert and Roeper have given the film two thumbs up - they genuinely seemed to enjoy it on all sorts of levels. Did anyone catch the episode where they reviewed this movie? Aside from this film and their Country Bears review, they seemed to be at each other's throats while discussing the other films that were featured.