Rating: 
Summary: See Signs!
Review: Like the best episodes of the TV shows The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, this movie uses a low budget to filter an epic science fiction story through a small setting. Also like those shows, Signs relies on acting, lighting, and things unseen, instead of constant special effects. However, when the effects appear, they work perfectly!M. Night Shyamalan not only writes, directs, and produces, but also appears in a slightly unflattering role. But it's hard to hate any of the human characters in Signs. They are all likable in their own ways, and some of them are tragic. The emotional back-story makes Mel Gibson's character the most tragic of all, and those flashbacks keep interacting with the current suspense. M. Night Shyamalan is a brilliant story-teller, and this is a satisfying movie experience! (Duane Simolke's books include The Acorn Stories, Degranon, and New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio.)
Rating:
Summary: scary and suspenseful!
Review: I saw Signs a few days ago and loved it! From the beginning it had a frightening mood to it. The suspense of only catching glimpses of the creatures was priceless. It kept you on the edge of your seat. M. Night did a wonderful job of scaring me!
Rating: 
Summary: Not a disappointment
Review: Well, I saw this with a group of friends and reactions ranged wildly. Then again, I think Unbreakable is better than The Sixth Sense, which not a lot of people agree with. Signs is a different sort of movie. As a rabid Hitchcock fan, it is interesting to see the various ways Shyamalan mimics the master. In this film you still have the great mood and suspense, but the audience is much more in on the story. No big surprises at the end, but what a ride. The crop circles/alien story line is the infamous McGuffin, the plot device that moves the story. The movie is actually more about character development, the ups and downs of a spiritual walk, and reaffirming what is important in life, mainly friends and family. Shyamalan once again shows one of his true gifts, getting strong performances out of child actors. He really seems to know how to work with children to get natural, yet spooky results. Once again cinematography, lighting and camera work are excellent, although this story doesn't play up those effects as much as perhaps M. Night's previous work. If you are a fan of Shyamalan's work, you should definitely give this movie a chance. The less you know about it before the first viewing, the better.
Rating: 
Summary: If you, um... build it, they will, er...
Review: Let's review what we've learned about cornfields from Hollywood. Well, not only do they produce one of our most versatile and nutritious vegetables, but sometimes, they act as an afterlife portal for famous dead baseball players. They can also double up as a fabulous play area for Stephen King's children. M. Night Shyamalan's latest film demonstrates another handy use for a cornfield: "aerial maps" for alien pilots (even though they have the technology to build massive fleets of spacecraft capable of navigating light-year distances, these kooky invaders haven't quite got a handle on that whole "G.P.S." thing yet). Widower/ex-reverend Mel Gibson, his two kids and "permanent houseguest" brother (Joaquin Phonenix) are the lucky lottery winners in thier county for a cornfield-based UFO staging area. At its best, "Signs" has some gripping moments that recall Hitchcock's "The Birds" or Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead"; especially during the film's final third, which takes on a similar claustrophobic siege scenario. At its worst (and unfortunately for the bulk of its length) the film is a "Close Encounters" wanna-be, with an eye-rolling ending. The cast does an OK job with the material they have to work with, and Shymalan is obviously a talented filmmaker, but this material has been done to death. Worth a look for devoted sci-fi fans, but not destined to become a genre classic.
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful and scary
Review: "Signs" is the latest film by M. Night Shyamalan and it is up to par with his "The Sixth Sense". It delivers the chills and the suspense that "The Sixth Sense" did, but "Unbreakable" did not. Mel Gibson would never have been my candidate (years ago) for an actor with "legs" (the ability to extend his career to the length and breadth that he has), but, man, he has proved me wrong. Gibson is truly a chameleon actor - able to allow his characters to envelope his being. Joaquin Phoenix, also, would never have been someone I thought would have any potential for a strong career as an actor. I thought that his career would rise and fall due to his late brother's fame and talent. Apparently, those Phoenixs are better actors than I gave them credit, because Joaquin is really a fine actor. I think everyone actually knows the premise of the story, but here goes: Crop circles are popping up all over the world and some have popped up in Mel Gibson's corn fields too. Gibson is a recent widower and father of two, whose younger brother (Phoenix - a former promising minor league baseball player) has come to live with Gibson and family to help out. Together, the family weathers the bizarre events that begin to unfold after the appearance of the crop circles. Is it aliens? As told here - yes - And how! "Signs" is a "War of the Worlds for the modern era. It's "Indepedence Day" without all the explosions and CGI. Don't get me wrong - it's a good movie and I think it would be hard to truly be unique in this genre as it is now well covered territory in the shadow of a myriad of films and television shows on the subject matter, including "The X-Files". What "Signs" does well is bring the whole genre back down into a more familial setting and turn up the tension by making it a 'haunted house' movie, so to speak. We aren't subjected to, or fascinated by long detailed shots of the aliens, but rather see them out of the sides of our eyes (as it were) - in the shadows - and in reflections. This is a tactic that has been effectively employed in suspense films since such films began getting made. Its effectiveness has not diminished one iota! You will be jumping repeatedly in this film. It is really good. I don't think it has the complex detailing of logic that "The Sixth Sense" displayed, but I think it is more indicative of the subject matter and less a complaint about the director or the script. Check out this film and enjoy the ride.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!!
Review: I like the directors former 2 movies, "Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable", a lot so I was so looking forward to this one since I saw its trailer. I went to see it the first day it is on. And you know what? I was TOTALLY DISAPPOINTED!! First of all, this movie is not entertaining. I can stand that it is not scary nor funny. This is Shyamalan's style. But I don't know why this movie is NOT SPECIAL AT ALL. "Six Sense" and "Unbreakable" were full of imaginations and creativities. Shyamalan really made me feel:"Wow! How did he come up with such an interesting story?" And that is why I am SO DISAPPOINTED. "Signs" is packed with REALLY OLD SCIENCE FICTION TRICKS, like "a baby guard suddenly received alien communications" kind of thing. And there are a lot of paradoxes, too. For example, if an alien's skin melts on the contact of water, how come he's not afraid of dew walking through the crop farm and not to mention the moisture in the air and rain. Anywayz, I don't want to say it but this is definitely the worst movie of the year for now. I regret I bought the ticket!
Rating:
Summary: Good for insomnia!
Review: This movie was very disappointing. I fell asleep twice in the theater. They should have never showed an alien, they should have left it up to the viewers' imaginations. The only scary parts where when you thought you saw something or when you saw a shadow and objects moving in their wake. M. Night has really gone down hill since The Sixth Sense!!!
Rating:
Summary: SIGNS Point To Plenty of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZs
Review: This overproduced, overhyped yawn fest is great for anyone looking to catch a few winks. This movie has so much promise that is never realized, it is sad to think just how good it could have been. The acting is fine, but wasted in a plot that rambles and goes nowhere. I overheard a lot of other moviegoers grumbling about this movie as I left the theater. Save your money and catch it on cable.
Rating: 
Summary: Signs Had No Signs For Me!
Review: Signs is one of those movies that - well - I can't agree with the press. I do not think M. Night is the next Spielberg. The one thing that Spielberg brings to his pictures that M. Night did only once in The 6th Sense, was a story. Signs has no story. Yes I have seen 6th and Unbreakable and I must say M. Night has the market on long, moving and drawn out shots. It seems to take forever to get from one place to another. Back to the story. The concept is cool and definitely movie material, however, as good as Mel Gibson is (and he is good in this), its just not interesting enough. The pay off at the ending was a disappointment and the wrapping of the aliens was very anti climactic. I don't want to ruin it for those of you who plan to see it soon, but be warned, the ending is NOT what you would expect. M. Night seems to have the press favoring him and I have no idea why. I think he is not better than a lot of other directors out there and I know there are many more out there who are better Chris Columbus, Jonathan Frakes, Jay Roach and Robert Redford to name a few I love science fiction, I love Mel Gibson and Joaquin and I love good epic movies and even with all the ingredients like these - M. Night did not do this story justice. Why? Because there was no story and that disappointed me a lot! Sorry everyone - I got bored! 8-6-03.
Rating:
Summary: Will stay in your mind for weeks after
Review: Signs is not about aliens, believe it or not. In fact, it could even be argured if there really were aliens in this movie or not. The director of this movie bypassed the standard "Get a scantly clad woman with a machine gun" norm of horror movies and gave us a deeply emotional and thought-provoking film. No, there is no huge suprise like "Sixth Sense" but there are many twists and turns in the film. This movie goes by faster than lightning. Who ever said this movie goes by slow must have been day dreaming during the movie or something. Signs is one of those movies you will actually want to see again, and that says a lot in the movies of Summer 2002.
| 
