Signs
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Movie Reviews of Signs
Movie Review: Are you the type who sees signs?
Summary: 5 Stars
Signs has much more to offer than Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds." In this reality, the world is populated with numerous signs seemingly hidden in plain sight.
Director M. Night Shyamalan divides people into two camps: The type who believes in miracles, sees signs; and those who think we just get lucky.
Shyamalan's carefully crafted universe has creatures that must resort to warring with other planets to survive... and there is us. Shyamalan's war pits technologically superior creatures against an unsuspecting world, and a shattered world occupied by a clergyman who questions his faith following the death of his wife. Shyamalan goes further than the Sixth Sense, the bone-chilling tale of a young boy ("I see dead people") haunted by ghosts who appear regularly in his life to enlist his help. In Signs, Shyamalan declares not only can we help the dead, the dead also help us.
Another way of putting it: There are no coincidences. From the son's asthma and the daughter's dreams to the brother's baseball prowess and the tragic instance in which a veterinarian's momentary lapse at the wheel claims a life. The plot is a masterpiece in misdirection. Signs opens to an aerial view of crop circles. More signs of the impending invasion appear as the story moves forward. But these are not the signs that we should be looking at. In the last reel, the dying wife who has but a moment to tell seems to be rambling. But it turns out, she was staring into the future, not her husband's eyes.
This movie says we are much more than we seem.
Mel Gibson's character, the grieving Rev. Graham Hess finds himself suddenly struggling to make sense of the many odd happenings at his farm. He already has isolated himself following his wife's death. Of course, his guard is up. But he finds himself awkwardly grasping to cling to his understanding of the new reality. He can dismiss the crop circles in his fields as mischief by pranksters. But, he soon can't deny the mounting evidence and nocturnal visits from unseen and unseeable intruders. Edgy, provocative and well-paced, Signs is a multilayered and intricately woven piece to try and digest in an afternoon at the theater.
I was first struck by Shyamalan's study of how his characters cope with the increasingly apparent threat. The no-nonsense son Morgan immediately seeks out a book and a curious and chilling element to this story, a baby monitor. The brother Merrill who has taken a room over the garage to help the family turns to the TV. The youngest, the girl who must be about kindergarten age, believes she is dreaming. It is the father, Graham, who is not coping well living in denial. But who can blame him?
"There is no one out there to help us. We're all alone," our resigned and frockless clergyman declares.
The final scenes are well-constructed to induce fear. Shyamalan masterfully pulls all the pieces together at the end. If you were impressed by Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, you will enjoy this offering... again and again.
Movie Review: Thrilling and utterly outstanding piece of film!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Signs" is the next thriller, offered by director/writer/producer, M. Night Shyamalan, who also made "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable".PLOT SUMMARY: "Signs" takes place in the rural farm area of Pennsylvania, where a retired Preacher lives with his two children and younger brother. Mel Gibson stars as Father Graham Hess, who has lost all Faith in God ever since his wife died in a terrible car accident. One day, Graham thinks his children, Morgan and Bo (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin) are missing in the corn fields. He and his brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), go out searching for them and discover the legendary Crop Circles in the field. At first, Graham and Merrill insist that it's nothing but teenagers playing jokes, but things start getting creepy when they watch TV and find out that Crop Circles are being found all across the Globe, according to the mysterious news that keeps on being repeated on every single radio station and television channel. When the family dogs start acting up, they are put outside and not much later, one of them dies. Other strange occurences that happen on the farm are that they keep on getting strange signals from Morgan's walkie talkie and someone--or something--has been tresspassing onto their land every night. Morgan keeps on insisting that it's "extra terrestrials" trying to make contact with Earth, but Graham won't believe it. However, when nothing else in Graham's theories seem to work, it all adds up to the fact that maybe--just MAYBE--Morgan might be right.
MY OVERALL THOUGHTS: M. Night Shyamalan has taken the elements of religion, science, fiction, and even a little bit of horror, twisted them together, and turned them (along with top-notch acting performances, great special effects, and a superb storyline), into a spectacular and spooky film. Mel Gibson gives one of his best performances to-date, as the retired minster who's lack of self-belief in religion really nearly drives him to insanity with the Crop Circles. Joaquin Phoenix also gives a superb performance as Graham's younger brother who came to live with the family after Graham's wife died. Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin are amazing as the kids who believe what's really causing the Crop Circles to form are aliens trying to give Earth signals, as there are only a limited number of them and they are basically the same. The supporting cast does well, too...and M. Night Shyalaman even makes an appearence in the supporting cast, as he usually does in his films. The special effects are wonderful, and the storyline and plot are solid and strong--holds your interest to the very end. A real "thinker's film", and still manages to keep you entertained...and maybe even a little spooked.
The DVD includes a nice package of extras including a six-part documentary on the making of the film, five deleted scenes, storyboards, and a featurette on Shyalaman's first alien film. The DVD is available in wide screen format.
I highly recommend "Signs".
Score:
100/100
A+
Movie Review: I was hesitant but pleasantly rewarded - - a very good film
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw Signs just a few days ago and I still can't stop thinking about it. This is quality film making, and I think the general populace has forgotten what that is. M. Night Shyamalan is a breath of fresh air; a hands-on film maker/storyteller. His direction reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock. He has the confidence in us, the viewers, to allow our imagination some well-deserved exercise. Hollywood has patronized our intellect; we've been spoon-fed blood and guts for so long now that we don't know how to fill in the blanks anymore . . . Before seeing Signs, I did not know anything about the story other than it was a test of one man who had lost Faith and that it had to do with crop circles and the fact they may have been created by aliens. I was hesitant to see it because I thought "crop circles, how lame!". I will now admit I was extremely touched by the story. I was so sucked into the movie that I never gave the hokey premise a second thought. It unfolded, neatly yet surreally, for me as I discovered what the characters were discovering. My husband, who saw this movie in the theater some time ago, was kind enough not to give me any additional information other than what I had seen in the trailers and I will extend that courtesy to you. For this film, it is better not to know too much.
On a technical note, the acting was terrific - - I fully believed in each of the characters, and their roles were adequately developed to the extent necessary. The children were wonderful actors, as was Joaquin Phoenix and, of course, Mel Gibson.
As a mother of four, I was completely at ease sitting beside my children watching this film. No uncomfortable sex scenes, no uncomfortable language. I remember being impressed by some of the dialogue, realizing that people don't do that in movies anymore - - sit and talk in complete sentences without stuff exploding behind them - - talking for the sake of revealing their characters, their relationships, their motivations, the story. That's not to say this movie is not scary - - my children are between the ages of 3 and 12 (the 3 ½ yr old twins played in their room because the opening music was too scary for their taste), and they are all comfortable with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and other "high-brow" horror like Sam Raimi's "Army of Darkness", so the scary parts of this movie - - and there are some intense situations - - were not too much for them. It could be too scary for other children, though.
While I love to be entertained by a film, even scared by a film, I mostly enjoy being made to think after a film. This is a wonderful story about Faith. We have all wondered why bad things happen, and we've all heard the cliches - - when one door closes, another opens - - only God knows - - etc. - - and I think Mr. Shyamalan has given us a tale that is entertaining, suspenseful, well-crafted, visually pleasing, and good old-fashioned fun! It is not often that I believe a film will be a classic but I do believe Signs will stand the test of timelessness.
Movie Review: A nearly perfect movie
Summary: 5 Stars
The third film by Shyamalan is a flawless presentation of the art of film making, the craft of which matches Hitchcock or Kieslowski at their heights. The story lines, the acting and the general theme can be a subject of criticism if you like, personally I found nothing to complain about and much to enjoy. But the actual creation of the images on film, my goodness, what about that could be criticized?There are so many delightful moments here it's difficult to know where to start. Every scene is scripted with intricate attention to detail, each a little gem in their own right. The camera always knows where to be, rushing up to focus in or drawing back to include the overall scene just exactly like your own eye would wish to see. What's going on over there? You want to see, so the camera runs over and checks it out for you, sometimes being bound by physical reality, becoming another actor in a sense, a kind of avatar on your behalf, as if you were a person standing in the film. A lot of films may attempt that feeling, but few with the kind of precision and careful consideration displayed here.
And the way he uses sounds, everything is so well thought out. The volume control of a dog barking becomes a crucial part of the picture, the metallic sound of a water pan sliding across the ground a warning, silence an omen. It's just all so darn perfect.
If I was forced to pick one scene(aside from the brilliant children's party tape, one of the scariest moments in motion picture history), it would have to be when Joaquin Phoenix is confronting the alien, Mel Gibson running out of the house with his son, and the little girl trailing behind. The camera moves with them, away from the scene, but we want to see what's going on inside. Instead of simply moving the camera back, he performs a double trick, having the little girl feel the same way we do. She stops and turns back, stepping up to the window, placing her hands on the sills and peering inside, the camera going with her, pausing in back of her as if it was a person standing behind her, trying to look around her, and then becoming free, moving forward through the broken window pane to capture more of the scene. It's absolutely breathtaking, I had to laugh out loud in delight when it happened. Then the music swells to the climax and gentles out as the camera swings by the boarded-up window to many months later out the next window . . . man, it's so obvious when you see it happen and so difficult to conceive, and there are so many masterful touches like that, dozens of them.
This guy is a certified genius. The first two movies were good, but this . . . top twenty all time, no kidding. And he's just getting started. We're so lucky to be here, waiting for the rest, as if we just saw our first Hitchcock movie in the 40's, with all of the incredible work of the next two decades to follow. Heck, this guy is already there.
Movie Review: Good reason to have both dogs and faith...
Summary: 5 Stars
There are certain movies that are creepy beyond belief, but Signs still falls into my "bedtime movie" category from the overall feeling of comfort it somehow gives me, in spite of the shivers it produces. To me, I found it an excellent presentation of Ying and Yang, the balance of life, that for everything there is a purpose; even the most horrid of life's tragedies could be a sign of better things to come.
This is a beautiful story of family love and everyday life interrupted first by a tragedy, and then by an extremely creepy alien invasion. The low-keyed small town lives of the people the movie centers around, make the actual eeriness of the movie even more palpable. No overt terror and no gore at all, `Signs' is still a scary movie in that it invades your own imagination with subtle shadows and innuendos that do not strike out at you with clammy arms, but sneak up with deadly stealth.
The premise is that a crop farmer and former Priest finds `crop circles' out in his corn field. Then the news channels begin reporting on these incidents occurring on a global level, and sightings of alien spacecraft hovering over Mexico City, along with footage of a bizarre intruder at a birthday party in Brazil. The veiled suspense builds as people realize that the threat is real, while they try to figure out why these aliens are here on Earth. The most overt horror comes from Rev. Hess's flashbacks to Officer Paski's explanation of his wife's condition at the scene of a previous accident. Sent shudders down my spine, it did.
My hat comes off in a bowing sweep to some absolutely stellar performances from some remarkable actors in this film. Aside from Mel Gibson as Rev. Graham Hess, there is young Rory Culkin playing Morgan Hess, whose acting abilities are equal to or above those of his old brother McCauley Culkin. The little girl Abigail Breslin playing Bo Hess is adorable and perfect in every way, and take particular note of the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as Merrill Hess (believe it or not, he played the kid Gary in Steve Martin's Parenthood!). He has turned into a notable actor and quite a hottie as well. Merrill's bravery in part of the ending is so overwhemling that it makes the character (and actor) extremely attractive. Officer Paski is played by the extremely talented Cherry Jones (Erin Brockovich) and the part of Veterinarian Ray Reddy was played by none other than M. Night Shyamalan, the director of `Signs'. Even the bit parts of Lionel Prichard (Michael Showalter) and Tracy Abernathy (Merritt Wever) are noteworthy performances.
Overall, this is a superbly acted movie, with a stealthy creepiness that will grow on you rather than slap your face, and a story of humanity at its very finest. Watch out for those fingers coming up under the door, one of the most subtly terrifying moments ever created. Enjoy!