*** Official "SIGNS" Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Carlo_M]

Girlfriend and I both gives this two thumbs up, or 3.5 / 4 stars. I don't want to get into the debates going on in the discussion thread, just want to share my quick review on the film.
1. Great job by Gibson, Phoenix and the two kids.
2. Very atmospheric, trademark MNS feel to it
3. The little girl is a scene stealer
4. Very creepy feeling, and doesn't let up for most of the last 1/2 of the movie
This will definitely be a street date purchase for me when it comes out on DVD.

 

[John Miles]

2 out of 5 stars from this Unbreakable fan. I felt that Signs was just a remake of From Dusk Til Dawn without Tarantino's touch.
In particular, the "Tortured Clergyman Who Has Lost His Faith Due To Great Personal Tragedy And Who Must Now Rediscover It Through Further Tribulation" schtick is rapidly turning into a cliche'. Signs never seemed to rise above the cinematic and philosophical quality of a good Twilight Zone episode.

 

[Jan Strnad]

Signs was decent entertainment, but it also disappointed me in several ways. The entire alien angle was poorly thought out, and the human characters behaved in ways that seemed to suit the plot rather than reflecting anything like real human reaction.

Overall, I'd give Signs about two-and-a-half stars out of five.

Jan

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Being a big Shyamalan fan it'll come as no surprise to no one that I loved this movie. It's definitely more commercial than Unbreakable - which I still like better - and reaches the audience much better.

Shyamalan continues to prove himself as an adept filmmaker. I love his directing style and he indeed does employ a more restrained style here. Unbreakable was more showy because I believe he was trying to capture some of the framing conventions used in the panels of comic books.

The cast was execellent, especially the children.

Another area where Shyamalan's movies continue to excel in - is in the use of sound. He recognizes it's importance and uses it quite adroitly to enchance the mood of a movie.

During the screening I saw he totally owned the audience and had them in the palm of his directorial hands.

I believe that if Shyamalan continues to create movies like he has he probably won't go down as one of the great directors.

He is foremost a storyteller. He's like the Stephen King of movies. Both tell great stories and both are dismissed as being to showy or lacking finesse. Yet both are able to create images and build moods.

That would be a great pairing - M. Knight Shyamalan directing a movie based on a Stephen King story. Sigh.

8.5 out of 10.

 

[John Randolph]

...It was awful. I don't feel like going into it, but I'll just say that:

In the first hour, things could have been mildly-moderately suspenseful, but they ruined it by trying to make it funny. The audience were laughing at the jokes (which weren't funny, by the way) so much, that I thought I was sitting in a comedy.

The last half-hour or so could have been suspenseful but yet again they messed it up. This time they messed it up because they showed the alien, and it was big and green, and it looked retarded (for lack of better words to describe it). Then, to make it worse, they made it shoot poisonous gas out of its wrist. The whole thing was laughable.




This was really a dissappointment considering how much I like Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense.

 

[Scott DeToffol]

I saw it last night with about 15 people in the theater. It was scary and I really enjoyed it. My fiance hates when animals get hurt, especially dogs
so she didn't like it as much. The tension was very well executed.

I really liked how this wasn't your typicall invasion movie. It showed a very narrow, focued and isolated viewpoint of the event. It was all the more scary thinking, but not knowing, what was happening in the rest of the world.

A few complaints but nothing serious.

I don't think the family was spooked enough when
the aliens were coming into the house
. I think kids in that situation would have been screaming their heads off. And why didn't the guys have any weapons? I would have grabbed something to swing.

 

[Steve Christou]

Saw Signs tonight at a packed cinema, it premiered yesterday in London, anyway I loved every minute of it, very effectively spooky SF, some good jumps, Sandra as usual screaming and squirming in her seat, covering her eyes at certain points, the bit at night with Mel Gibson in the field with the flashlight, well Sandy never saw any of that, she had her hands over her eyes the whole time, heh heh, good work Shyamalan!
This is my favorite of his films so far, M.Night is getting better and better as far as I'm concerned, he might really be 'the new Spielberg' as they've hyped him, Mel Gibson was excellent, the two kids were great, everyone laughed at their 'hats'.
Signs also proves you don't have to fill your movie with cgi, fast cuts and insipid poptracks to make an effective movie which audiences go to see over and over again, and tellingly the Spielberg/Cruise 'can't fail' SF blockbuster Minority Report grossed around $130m total at the US boxoffice this year, while the quieter less assuming Signs has passed $200m and still going.
For girlfriend squirming effectiveness I give Signs 4 out of 4.

 

[Brad_V]

"Ooo, I'm a big, bad alien who can jump on top of a roof and bust through walls and travel through space and make my ship invisible to the world but I can't get through *a freakin' door*."

Ugh.

What a clunker of a movie. It would have worked well if it was a) a movie about aliens, or b) a movie about faith, or c) written halfway-decent to combine a and b. I was at least expecting a fairly-typical "the aliens are funny looking but are really here to help us" ending, but instead we get baseball flashbacks and water-is-good.

I wouldn't say this movie was terrible, because it did have some decent mood and mildly-fun "oooh, what's out there" moments, but other than that, man, Signs is a poorly-written clunker.

"Ya know, Bob, I'd like to write a story about a man who regains his faith." "That's great, but how about tossing some aliens in just for no reason?" "Ok."

 

[Rey_Ramos]

Saw it Sunday and it was great. I had a great time just being taken away into the story. Everyone did a great job of acting. I feel the negative comments on Mel's part about him being too stiff aren't fair. He was an ex-priest, pretty much cornered himself away from most of society on his farm. The guy couldn't even curse or act upset when him and Phoenix were supposed to be running around the house scaring away the supposed looters.
Oh and I'm glad that damn dog got forked, he scared the crap out of me when the little girl tried to give her water.
Probably the best movie i have seen this year.

 

[BarryS]

I'm resurrecting this old thread because I just saw Signs today at a discount theater. I was pretty blown away by it. I found it the most intensely suspenseful movie I have seen in a long time. For much of the movie, I was sitting back in my chair with my heart literally pounding. I agree with Roger Ebert that the Shyamalan is a born filmmaker who can summon suspense out of thin air. There are several sequences, the chase in the cornfield, the pantry-door scene and the birthday party footage
, that are so incredibly suspenseful that they are almost frightening. I love the way Shyamalan took the Jaws method of showing only a little bit of the aliens at a time
and thus heightening the tension immeasurably. I found Signs to be an expertly crafted thriller, which has to be the single most exciting movie experience I've had this year (along with Panic Room). I don't quite agree with the whole faith issue, but to me, the movie was more about apprehension and suspense, at which it succeeds admirably.
I didn't quite find it to be perfect, however. I have a few minor quibbles (Swing away, Merrill!), and I think I would have preferred that the alien not be shown directly at the end. The use of teases and hints of the alien were much more effective.
. Not enough problems to detract from my enjoyment of the movie though, and I eagerly await the Signs DVD.

 

[ThomasC]

finally saw the movie today, my two cents...

bleh. it was great all the way up to the end, then just bleh. the ending pooped all over the movie. too traditional, too hyped up. a definite disappointment from shyamalan.

 

[Matthew_Austin]

I never thought I'd watch an alien invasion movie that was worse and more insulting to a viewers intelligence than Independence Day. This film just proved me wrong. I will no longer underestimate Hollywoods ability to lower the bar further and further with each passing year.

If you rent this DVD my suggestion is to save some time and just watch the directors first movie about an alien invasion. It's only one minute and isn't much worse than the two hour version. Use the remaining 119 minutes to do something more usefull like watching paint dry.

 

[Chris Farmer]

Well, as someone who loved Sixth Sense, and thought Unbreakable was its equal (please, don't make me choose between those two excellent movies), M. Night Shyamalan has gone from my good side to "can do no wrong." The movie just worked for me. The pastor who lost his faith arc was well realized, it never felt forced, because each step in the process made so much sense. The aliens weren't there as "aliens per se" but as a force, They weren't shown, and they didn't need to be, they were a presence more then characters, just a feeling of dread. I agree that showing the alien at the end didn't really work, but I guess every movie has to make a consensus to the mainstream even Night. I guess test audiences just wanted to see the alien at the end. That said, it still works great. The feeling of dread is tangible throughout. You know you're being manipulated, yet you can't get off the ride.
Now if only I can get my little sis to finish it, she ran out when Mel was in Night's house.

 

[ChrisRC]

I just watched the DVD "Signs"
:star: :star: 's because I feel generous.
I am sorry that most of you seemed to like this movie, but I felt like somebody just read me a book with lots of pictures in it. Sure, the story was ok, if I was reading it. As for a cinematic presentation.... WEAK. After the DVD was over, my wife turned to me and said "thats it?".
The plot is OLD, the "look at me acting in my own movie" thing has been DONE by Stephen King, and I really dont want to deal with the holy roller issue while I am supposed to be entertained. As far as it being a "thriller" and a "spine tingler", well that is laughable at best.
As I was putting it on the shelf, the spine of the "Patriot" dvd caught my eye. I thought to myself "Amazing that an actor can entertain me so much in one movie, and then with the other movie make me wish I owned a shrink wrap machine so I could sneak it back to the store."
To sum it up in one sentence.
Take the movie "Independence Day" and add 2500mg of valume, and THEN take it down another notch.
-ChrisRC

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is for reviews "only" and not to discuss the film's merits or lack of which is why a Official Discussion thread has been designated. Also, name-calling will not be tolerated on HTF.
Crawdaddy

 

[Dan Rudolph]

This thread is for reviews "only" and not to discuss the film's merits or lack of which is why a Official Discussion thread has been designated.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Review: This is one dreadful movie. My wife liked it, though. I thought "Monsters, Inc." was more terrifying.

 

[Agee Bassett]

Just saw Signs on DVD.
Uninteresting patchwork pastiche of second-hand cinematic ideas, left over from a far-too-seriously-taken film school education. The movie is lifeless.
0 out of :star::star::star::star:

 

[Lee-M]

I know I'm jumping on this thread pretty late; I have to disagree with the detractors of this film. The love and attention that went into this movie makes 90% of the other films released last year look pedestrian and sad.

The use of sound should have garnered a nomination from at least one of the ten million film awards this season; I've had two or three showings of it at my house, and enjoyed seeing people jump at certain spots (telephone ringing, dog barking).

Apart from the sounds that elicited veiwer reaction were quiet moments... Mel Gibson's character talking to his younger brother when the kids were asleep is one of my favorite examples. I thought he handled that scene amazingly.

The photography throughout was handled beautifully, as well.

As for the subject matter, I enjoy the way M. Night takes a subject that other filmmakers would go over-the-top with, and personalizes and humanizes them. We didn't need to see action heroes kicking ass ala Independence Day... this was a real family.

Regarding the religious aspect of the piece: I do not consider myself a religious person... I err on the side of science. In the best tradition of scientific inquiry, I attempt to find rational, proveable explanations for the basic questions of Life, the Universe, and Everything. This mode of thought did not prevent my appreciation of the journey the main character goes through... I understand people of faith, and realize how important that faith is to their lives. I enjoyed Graham Hess's realization that all the seeming-coincidences had a purpose, and the way that realization helped him to save his family.

There are very few filmmakers who craft their films any more... too many make a movie that fits into a certain mold made for it by the Hollywood notion of what a Thriller is, or an Action Movie (must have the f-word at least 35 times, must have unshaven hero, and usually an insane or non-American antagonist, yada yada yada...), or a Space Invasion Movie. M. Night Shyamalan refuses to fit his films into that mold made by the Idiots in Hollywood; sometimes he's overt and perhaps slightly awkward about it, but I have yet to see him make a bad film.

Just my .02.