Signs
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.35 You Save: $6.60 (66%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Signs
Movie Review: I USED TO LOVE CORN FIELDS , ARE WE IN KANSAS YET ?
Summary: 5 Stars
Right up front I want to say, this is truly one of the best flicks I've seen in a long time. It was paced, the cinematography was excellent and the movie score led you along and like the Erie score in Sixth Sense, never let you go. M. Night is becoming a guru in the field of how he lets the characters show how the movie is progressing; thru their facial expressions, you see in their eyes, what they are seeing in front, to the side, and to their backs. Thus making it even more spooky for the audience. I am not fond of movies that go bump in the night, boo, type of thing as in (Resident Evil ). M. Night stopped way short of that, giving you a bump or I should say a jolt and it was like, "Yeah I'm ready to leave!" M. Night is also in the movie. He has been in a few of his other movies, earning him the labels of a 'Hitchcokian' type Director and his movies do have a flavoring of feelings from Hitchcock.
All the actors were superb, Mel as (Father Graham Hess) 'We Were Soldiers,' 'The Patriot,' 'Ransom.' Who gave up his belief in an all mighty being after loosing his wife in a freaky, horrific accident. This accident is a pivotal point in Hess's thinking as is the last words of his wife . Mels' expressions as all of the others , were nothing short of perfection, but, after saying that I must say Joaquin Phoenix ,( Uncle Merrill) Clay Pidions , Gladiator, Buffalo Soldiers, does an incredible job with his facials and those of the two children are not to be believed. Joaquin Phoenix is going a long way in filmdom. He is great!
Rory Culkin , Morgan Hess, who did a great job in 'You Can Count On Me ,' does an even greater job in this flick. The scene of Morgan and his sister sitting on the couch, with their heads wrapped in tin foil so the Aliens could not read their minds is very funny. There are plenty of laughs in the first part of the movie, so hold onto them as it gets a lot more tense toward the end. Abigail Breslin plays the youngest of the Hess family (BO) and seems to have a water fixation, and is sort of annoying to her father. But she is immune to her critics .She has water glasses all over the house, and when asked by her father what is wrong with each glass, she can recite what is wrong with each one.
Almost forgot Cherry Jones, Perfect Storm, Erin Brockovich, plays the sheriff who investigates the crop circles on Hess's farm and she is a very good actress. There are no slackers in this film.
The signs are there people and you had better not let this one slip thru the cracks of your cinematic knowledge of what's "'really out there". ...
Movie Review: A top-notch thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Just came back for seeing M. Night Shyamalan's 'Signs' and I have to say that I enjoyed it very much. The film features some really thrilling moments and will have the audience on the edge of their seats. The cinematography is stunning and adds so much to the creepy atmosphere. M.Night is one of my favorite new directors, and he did not disappoint me with this highly orginal take on the 'War Of The Worlds' theme. And as much as the movie is about aliens and crop circles, there is also an underlying theme that deals with a man's search to regain his faith in God and to find the answer as to why sometimes bad things happen to the people we love. The movie begins with a series of geometric crop circles appearing mysteriously on the farm of Graham Hess(Mel Gibson), a former priest who lost his faith after his wife was accidently killed by a truck. At first he thinks it is a hoax perpetrated by some local hooligans, but when he watches the news and finds that these crop circles are appearing in all parts of the world, he begins to realize that something more ominous could be happening. The animals in the area begin to act strangely, and Graham's own dogs act violently, as if they were barking at something that wasn't there. As the tension mounts, more reports on the television about crop circles, and then some strange lights that are seen hovering in the sky over Mexico. People begin to predict the end of the world. Graham tries to protect his family as the reports become even more terrifying. This all leads to a very scary finale.
Although the movie is filled with tension and suspense, there are also some great moments of comic relief, and they are interspersed nicely throughout the film. Very good performances by Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix(Merill Hess, Graham's brother), but they are upstaged by the two kids, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin. Where does M. Night keep coming up with these great child actors from? One minor problem I had with the film is a little too much reliance on sentimentality--in my opinion it could of done without so much of it and still been effective. Also, in fairness I should say that I've already talked to someone who didn't like 'Signs' as much as I did, and I've read some of the bad reviews it has received, so my advice would be to see it for yourself, especially if you liked 'Unbreakable' and 'The Sixth Sense'; if it is anything, it is certainly entertaining. I am already highly anticipating M. Night's next effort.
Movie Review: Signs- 12A
Summary: 5 Stars
To start of explaining this movie is something I havent looked forward to for the films capacity. The film in its entirity is extremely engrossing and the reason it would be regarded as 'scary' is simply because imagining yourself in the same situation makes you feel insecure. The outstandingly well cast and directed Signs makes all other alien films look a tad corny although it has to be said the aliens look a little like gerkins. The films follows the unfortunate life of a former reverand whos wife has recently been the subject of a tragic accident. His brother Meryl, a former baseball player (no its not as corny as it sounds) comes to help out the poor reverand raise his two children, one of which is the fantastic McAuley Culkin's younger brother. Once there in the tiring wooden famrhouse the two start to be the subjects of some strange goings on. Firstly the crops are strangely flattened into a crop pattern and a strange figure is seen by the reverend creeping on the roof. As they rush out to scare the suspect (the brothers who had been terrorizing the reverend for quite some time) they find that the being is far more agile than they first thought, chasing it as fast as they can the figure bounds onto the roof and out of site. It is from now on, incidentally about 15 minutes into the film that the action starts. And it soon becomes evident that these crop circles have appeared over 400 major cities and the strange UFO's have taken pose over every major city. The attack maneuver is ready to go. Stricken by panic the family is left with two options, either to make leave for the water, as it seems the patterns are clear out of the way of water, or god fobid board up the house with freakin ply-wood. And guess which option they choose. Itd only be the ply-wood. Overall this movie is a cracker and to tell you any more would spoil the film but by all means this film is very scary for a 12 rating and it would be advised to wear some brown underwear for those jumpy moments. The cast and directing is phenomenal and the film strings up constant surprises whereas still keeping the story simple. HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU ACCOUNT FOR A FILM WITH A CRACKING, EASY TO UNDERSTAND STORY. not many i think youll find. This film WILL have an effect on you and it will make you listen out for those strange little clicky noises in the bushes, leave your baby monitor at home and go watch the film NOW. (the baby monitor thing will be understood if you watch the film :)Movie Review: All Signs Point to an Incredibly Scary Movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
All I can say is wow. That was pretty much my reaction when I walked out of the theater. That was pretty much my reaction when I stopped shaking, which wasn't until 15 minutes after the end credits started to roll. My muscles are so sore from shaking for an hour and a half, I think I may have trouble getting to sleep tonight."Signs" stars Graham Hess (played by Mel Gibson), his brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix of "Gladiator" fame), and Graham's two children, Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin). Graham is a priest-turned-farmer, wallowing in the wake of his wife's death. But that is just one of the problems facing him when this movie starts. If you've seen previews of this film, you no doubt know that crop circles center heavily in the storyline. But never in a way that you would expect.
Now I will admit that about 30 minutes into the film, I sat in the theater thinking, "Where in the heck is this all leading to?" I was starting to think that this movie was going to be a major dud, and that I'd forked over [money] for disappointment. But that's when the movie slams on the gas pedal and doesn't slow down. This is the only movie - and I mean, the ONLY movie - that has made my body shake for an hour and a half. The tension and dread-like feeling of "What's going to happen next?" is absolutely excruciating. M. Night Shyamalan (who wrote, directed, produced, AND acted in this movie) is clearly taking over as the King of Suspense when it comes to thriller-type movies. He knows just when to hit you full-force in the face with something; he knows when to hint at something; and he's very good at making you think one thing is going to happen when something else really does.
I will not go much further into this film. I don't want to give away any plot points. But, my gosh, you cannot go wrong with this film. If you liked such great movies such as "The Others" and "Sixth Sense," this movie will be right up your haunted alley. If you are looking for a movie where the power of suggestion is more frightening than what you might actually see, this movie is for you (I could write an entire review just based on that in and of itself).
Go see this movie. It has everything you want in a classic, edge-of-your-seat, scary movie. It made this reviewer coward and shake for an hour and a half, and that NEVER happens to me. Heck, it made the entire theater audience do that!
Movie Review: Classic Sci-Fi From A Modern Film
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start by saying, I love this film. It is a sci-fi masterpiece, a throwback to the classic sci-fi flicks of the 50s. Now, before you watch this movie, please keep that in mind. It has more in common with a movie like "The Day The Earth Stood Still" than it does with "Independance Day" or "Alien."The tension builds and fills the film like a massive lead weight that sits right on your heart as it thuds in your chest. You won't see lots of shooting, blood and gore. You will see a masterpiece of film-making unfold before your eyes.
The problem with this movie, or perhaps rather the other reviewers of this movie who put it down, is that it does not fit in with modern sci-fi expectations. There's not lots of CG effects, blood, aliens being blown to bits and lasers beams flying everywhere. It's not a story line hung loosely around a collection of mayhem, death and destruction in a sci-fi enviroment.
No, the problem is this movie is smart. It approaches fear in a way that is subtle, not in your face. It's not the junk food that movie audiences have been fed over the last few decades. It wants you to think more of it's characters than of the war. To me, this movie is more about the family it revolves around than the actual invasion. The alien invasion just serves as a backdrop for the story of a man's faith in God.
I especially like the duality of the title. "Signs" refers both to the crop circles left by the alien invaders, and the signs from God that Mel Gibson talks over in a great piece of dialogue with co-star Joaquin Phoenix. Both of these stars are first rate in this film.
As for the aliens, they seem to draw much criticism as well. I think M. Night wanted them to be an enigma. He accomplished that very well. Why did they act the way they did? I don't know. They were aliens! Hollywood has been spoon feeding us so much junk in sci-fi trappings, we've forgotten how to consume a REAL sci-fi movie.
In closing, I am giving this DVD five stars. I would give it 4.5 if possible. The movie is a five star affair, but I was disappointed in the extras. No trailers, and the behind the scenes parts were a bit dry. The deleted scenes were good however. If you want a true, tense, sci-fi movie and a character driven story, buy this! If you want lots of explosions and blood, you came to the wrong place, but check it out anyway, you might be surprised how much you like it.