Rating: 
Summary: I Expected More
Review: I thought this movie was ok. The story was pretty good, but I think that they could have done a better job overall. The whole ideas surrounding the crop circles and the aliens coming down was enjoyable and a good portrayal of what might happen. On the other hand, the side story about the minister who lost his wife, and thus loses his "faith," I thought was really cheesy. Not only has it been done before, but it took away from any credibility this movie otherwise would have had. Decent movie, but disappointing in the long run.
Rating: 
Summary: A sophisticated way to look at horror
Review: The only problem, and it's a small one, is that I wish there would have been more scenes with "the monsters", if this would be called a "monster" movie. That way the very slight "squirm factor" with the kids would be reduced. But even the kids got into this one a lot more than I thought they would, considering the adult level the movie was shot at. This is a difficult achievement for a movie that works on a lot of levels. Yes, you can call it a "monster" film. And you could call it a "space alien" film. And you could call it a mystery, as we are not sure what we are seeing until well into the story. With just this alone, the movie would have been fairly decent. But there are a couple more factors that make it great. First is the subtle way you see how people react when they believe they are in their last days, and even their last hours of life. One would expect a lot of scenes of mass hysteria and panic, and in the real world, there probably would be a lot of it. This movie chooses to take the path that some people would face their maker in a quiet, loving manner. Finally, it's great because we see Mel Gibson's battle with his own faith. He plays a minister who's wife was taken away in a tragic accident. He has a problem with God because of this, and at the start of the film, he is "officially" not to be called "Father" anymore, which the whole town conveniently ignores. However, with yet more tragedy looming over more of his loved ones, where will his faith go now? To find out, tune into what is a very, very fine film.
Rating:
Summary: M. Night Shyamalan's best film by far.
Review: "Signs" is also the best suspense/drama of 2002. The acting is excellent, even the small roles. My favorite performance is from the little girl Abigail Breslin as Bo Hess. She's so sweet and hilarious. Any horror/suspense/thriller with a beautiful little girl in it scores BIG TIME in my book! This girl is great. The movie doesn't need any special effects or blood and guts to make it effective. It just needs simple but effective suspense. It also has lots of laughs, humor, and emotion. It's my kind of movie; the kind that just has it all! I hope Shyamalan's got another film coming up.
Rating:
Summary: M. Night Shyamalan, you are a genius!
Review: After the huge success - critically and commercially - of "The Sixth Sense," director M. Night Shyamalan had a tough act to follow up. He failed with "Unbreakable," which I feel was an average film at best, but with his latest release, "Signs," he surpasses almost everyone's expectations in producing not only his best film to date, but definitely one of the highlights of 2002. As soon as a film receives huge success and makes hundreds of millions the world over, people are always there waiting to criticise. This fact stands the same with Signs; the film grossed a staggering $110 million in its first two weeks of release in the US alone, and in my opinion was well deserved. There aren't many films that deal with the subject of a sci-fi storyline, along with faith and religion, but Signs does - and to excellent effect... Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He used to be a vicar, until six months ago when his wife, Colleen, tragically died in a car crash. He lost all faith in the church and abandoned his beliefs. He now lives with his brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) and his two children, Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin). Graham awakes one morning to find huge crop circles in his cornfields. He soon discovers he is not alone in all this; many more crop circles are discovered all over the world. The spontaneous reaction from the majority of the world is that aliens have finally visited us. Graham begs to differ. He acts very laid-back in front of his children, but deep down he knows that something isn't right. He wants answers. And he knows they'll come...soon. Over the course of the next few days, all his beliefs, fears and wishes will come true - with some life-changing and shocking results. The acting in Signs is absolutely first-rate. Mel Gibson is outstanding in his role as a confused and upset father of two, struggling to live without the presence of his wife. Joaquin Phoenix is one of the biggest rising stars in Hollywood of the past few years, and I predict big things for him the future; he was superb in Gladiator and is even better in Signs. The success of his portrayal is that Phoenix finds the core of his character and plays upon it to brilliant effect. His on-screen relationship with his brother is very believable, and gives the film a more credible stamp overall. Rory Culkin is also brilliant as little Morgan, with his asthma problem. Culkin is mature beyond his years in Signs, and the portrayal is reflected in Morgan's adult flare. Culkin is slowly but surely following in his older brothers footsteps. He may never reach the crazed popularity and worldwide idolism that Macaulay did with the Home Alone movies, but he'll be big. Agibail Breslin is another superb young actress in Signs, and definitely one of the main reasons why I love the film so much. She instantly reminds me of the young Carol Anne in The Poltergeist. Her acting ability is superb for such a young age - only bettered by Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense." There are also very professional acting moments from Cherry Jones as Officer Paski. Her wisecrack jokes at the start of the film are replaced with more serious and outstanding emotional moments. Director M. Night Shyamalan also has a role as Ray Reddy, the other person who was in the car with Graham's wife when it crashed. He survived. She didn't. Cue hatred from Graham between the two. There are so many brilliant scenes in Signs that make is such a unique film. The scene where Graham goes out in the middle of the night with his flashlight to investigate rustling in his cornfields (as if you would!) is just a classic - the leg that disappears into the crops is very creepy and his reaction is even more astonishing. There are also some brilliant TV scenes. The scenes where many bright lights are seen hovering over Mexico City and the birthday party scene in Brazil are just incredibly spooky - especially the latter. Imagine walking down an alley and seeing an alien staring back at you in a way that you'd feel like dying of total shock. The commotion of the birthday children also adds to the disturbing effect of the scene. The final half hour of the film is brilliant too. The family decide to stay in their house and board up all the windows and doors instead of leaving for good. There are many superb moments towards the end, and the highly dramatic musical score adds to this immensely. There are many symbolic meanings in Signs that make it all the more enjoyable. Bo's obsession with clean water leads to the source that rids the aliens from the earth and Morgan's asthma problem is perfectly handled, especially towards the end of the film. His asthma problem leads to Graham putting his faith back into the church and resuming his job as a vicar. The film has many emotional ties; while the rest of world is no doubt going crazy with horror, the film manages to keep most of the screen time on the family, and how they deal with such a situation. OVERALL GRADE: 10/10 Director M. Night Shyamalan is definitely one of the best directors in today's world of film. The man is a truly unique writer/director who already has a trademark ability to hold the audience in suspense through twists and clever filming. He is fast becoming the new king of horror/suspense films much like Hitchcock, but with his own trademark signature. Signs rounds off a brilliant trilogy of hugely successful films from Shyamalan, and I'm sure there will be more to come from him in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: boring
Review: I do not understand what people see in this movie. Gibson wears the same depressed expression and flat monotone voice from start to finish. The whole thing is too far outside of reality. Independence day had more reality and was a much better movie. This movie was slow and depressing with no satisfaction in it. I was disappointed and by the end was still waiting for the acting to start. All of the actors are way better than this. If you want a movie for background noise only that does not require actual interest, this is the movie to choose.
Rating: 
Summary: Wake me up when it's over.....
Review: This movie had so much potential and could have been one of the scariest, suspenseful, and entertaining films ever made. The plot was very creative but everything was "pieced together" poorly. I was enjoying the movie during its first half but then it just seemed to drag on and on. The aliens look like a miniature version of the Green Giant. They seriously needed some better aliens. Another thing, what was up with the scenes with his wife after being hit by a car. They seemed so random and didn't fit very well with the rest of the movie. The aliens are pretty weak too. He hits one of the aliens twice with a baseball bat and pours water on it and it practically dies. This movie seemed kind of similar to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The movie also focuses more on the family and their faith during the alien invasion, not really the aliens and what is actually happening in the outside world which would have been cooler. The movie also seemed too short. The acting was pretty good though, it just needed a better directing job and some other things to "spice" it up and it would have been a ton better and a lot more scary. This movie was disapointing in my opinion. I would give it 3.5 if I could.
Rating:
Summary: Oh my GOD...
Review: Quite honestly, I do not get why anyone would think this movie was a good as a suspense flick. I almost turned it off half way. Suspense was minimal. I'm glad I stuck through to the end - I didn't realize this was a comedy!! Can't complain in detail, as I wouldn't want to give away the wacky ending to those who intend to buy or rent it...But the aliens were quite lame, the story was weak, and the ending...This movie was absolutely laughable...
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Garbage
Review: I'll be honest, I hated this film. It has so many plot holes that it is the cinematic equivalent of Swiss cheese. It seems that Mr Shyamalan decided not do do any research whatsoever about anything related to this film, even the Catholic faith that he beats any unsuspecting veiwer to death with. This is purely a film about God, but too gutless to come out and say it. Instead the veiwer is dragged through two hours of b-grade pap then slapped in the face with a bible. If I want to get brainwashed by religious zelots I'll go to church, not to a movie theatre. Utter ....
Rating:
Summary: Signs vs. The Patriot
Review: Although Signs is about aliens, and The Patriot is about the American Revolution, Signs can be best described by comparing it to The Patriot because Signs seems to have been created specifically to counter the moral lessons of The Patriot. In both movies, Mel Gibson was a single father confronted on his own property with an invasion by a greater force. In The Patriot, Mel Gibson and his children boldly fought the invaders. They not only defended themselves, they took the offensive whenever they could. Even his children were frequently portrayed using guns. Let's just say that their strategy in Signs was about as different as possible. (There were no guns in Signs.) When Mel Gibson discovered valuable information about the aliens, he didn't even tell anyone. Nevertheless, we are supposed to accept that his only moral shortcoming was not having faith that someone or something would save them. Signs is scary, but it is intended for the whole family because there is almost no blood or violence. However ... The moral lessons of Signs are that each of us is helpless and worthless apart from how much some higher power might value us. Therefore, we should never act with aggression or initiative until we receive a definite "sign" (hence the title) from this higher power telling us what to do. Regardless of whether this higher power is supposed to be a god or a government, that is probably not a lesson you want your kids to learn.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Good Movie!
Review: An alien movie where they use green rubber suits and it's actually good...amazing. Seriously this is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Gibson and Phoenix are at their best and there is even a Culkin in here, and amazingly he doesn't mess it up. Discovering crop circles in their crops obviously, then leads to an alien invasion. Do they beat the aliens or do the aliens win and take over the world. There is only one way to find out. Watch this great movie.
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