Rating: 
Summary: Mel scores again!
Review: Mel Gibson has been absent from this genre too long. You will be on the edge of your seat for most of this movie. Wisely they have let the audiance imagination have full rein, never letting them see the aliens too close. I would highly recommend this movie, but not for the very young...too scary.
Rating:
Summary: You gotta see this movie!
Review: I want to mention that there are a lot sweet, funny moments in this movie between Father Graham Hess(Mel Gibson), his two adorable kids (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin), his brother Merrill Hess(Joaquin Phoenix), and Officer Caroline Paski(Cherry Jones). And then of course there's the drama and suspense. I wouldn't exactly call it an action packed movie but I think Roger Ebert explained it best in his review, when he said, "I cannot think of a movie where silence is scarier, and inaction is more disturbing." I also love the fact that it's rated PG-13. A movie doesn't have to be rated R with lots of blood and violence in it to be scary. You can bet as soon as this movie comes out on DVD I'm buying it!
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: While most of the movie was quite decent, this movie lacked an ending and really could have done without Mel Gibson's faith journey. To make a movie that seemed like it could have had so much out of a topic so creepy and end up with a few cheap thrills and no real story line, not to mention so many loose ends you could trip walking out of the theatre, I was let down. I say, more alien less useless talk.
Rating:
Summary: Signs of Life.
Review: "Signs," the third wide release film of M. Night Shyamalan's career, affirms the old saying: less is more. Subtlety and cohesion are his strengths, and this film demonstrates both in the same vein of "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable." With the multitude of "scare" flicks released these days, it's a blessing that film audiences can go to the movies without expecting blood and gore as the primary fright tactics. A frequent question posed in the world of literature applies to film: Can an entertaining film be serious? Shyamalan answers with a resounding "yes." Moviegoers can put faith in almost any actor Shyamalan casts; they all give astounding and credible performances. Mel Gibson gives the performance of his career, but the real star is Joaquin Phoenix, who proves he doesn't need to play the role of an emperor in order to garner attention for his acting. The children, especially Rory Culkin, turn in good performances. One reason why his actors are so credible is due to the fact that subtlety is key; it's much easier to be genuinely afraid if there is ambiguity in a scene. Forget guts hanging out and scenes of knife stabbings - what you don't see (and what you don't understand) is what's terrifying. Greatness is clearly here. That storyline cohesion that Shyamalan seems to favor so much is a refreshing approach in cinema today. Most elements resonate with authenticity (for example, a previous review mentioned the realistic news reports). Shyamalan has crafted an intricate web that can be appreciated by those looking for a genuinely worthy film and by those who merely want to have see something fun over the weekend. In essence, Shyamalan may very well be the next Hitchcock and Spielberg amalgamated into one. The sense of awe he creates, his excellent filmmaking, and his ability to scare are all in his arsenal that has already taken him to the top.
Rating: 
Summary: dont waste your time and money!!
Review: what was the purpose of this movie can someone explain that to me?it was really boring from the beginning to the end.i only went to this movie for mel gibson but i think this was his worst movie i've seen.mel why why? BUT Joaquin Phoenix was hott!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies ever
Review: When i saw the previews for this movie i though it looked kinda of stupid although it is one of the best movies ever. If u like scary movies this is a movie for u or even if u like comedy it is really funny in some parts. so if u see one movie this summer
"Signs" should be it.
Rating:
Summary: "Silly, disappointing, and two hours that leads us nowhere."
Review: There was so much hype and seemingly positive reviews on 'Signs' that I wanted to see it on day one! I like Mel Gibson. I love aliens! And scary movies? You bet! This one seemed to promise it all, and even throw in a little theology--a subject I love! But after two hours trying to figure out what the reviewers saw that I didn't, I left the theater as disappointed in a movie as I've been in a long time. Maybe the admixture of theology, humor, aliens, and dying dogs just didn’t cut it. It certainly didn’t for me. The basic story is that poor Mel is Father Graham Hess, a disillusioned priest (a bit of a stretch in believability to say the least) who has lost his trust in God through the tragic death of his wife. He, his bother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix)-- the heavy-swinging strike out king of baseball, and two kids live together and discover--you guessed it, crop circles appearing everywhere. Through the industriousness of his son's love for alien books (he finds THE one book which will predict the aliens’ every move), our Mel realizes the circles were made by outer-spacers who might not be too friendly. Mel further discovers that the circles are 'signs' (get it?) from above, and that everything has a purpose--even the gut-wrenching last words of his dying wife "...tell Merrill to swing away!" As this thriller concludes, Merrill swings away, the alien croaks, and we all learn there's a purpose in everything from glasses of water to baseball bats to lost asthma inhalers. All one has to do is just figure out the signs. End of story. Joaquin Phoenix (he went from Gladiator to this?) is more of a third child than brother to Mel, as we see him sit in closet watching TV, and wear aluminum foil alien helmets with the children. But oh, can he swing that bat! I guess my initial sign (excuse the pun) that 'Signs' was doomed was when I found myself feeling nearly as much empathy for the alien as for Mel’s poor dying wife, delivering her last profound words. (Actually, at the time I was thinking more about who came up with the line “…parts of her are alive that shouldn’t be†than I was empathizing with her painâ€"that’s a bad thing.) As I headed out of the theater, I wondered what 'Signs' was supposed to be. Maybe it was supposed to be an action film in the 'Mad Max' genre. It wasn’t. It plodded along. I wondered if it intended to be a scary, eerie film like 'Poltergeist' (“...they’re here!â€)â€"Nope. If you’re frightened out of your seat at this one, you saw a different movie than I did. Well, maybe 'Signs' was supposed to be an intelligently scripted alien film, like 'Close Encounters'. Forget itâ€"total alien time is less than ten minutes, it’s more a shadow than a scare, and 'intelligent' describes neither the script nor the alien. Then I figured it out. Signs had a mysterious and complex plot like 'Fellowship of the Ring'! Surely there was a reason this film earned the reviews it got--I must've just missed it! Complex plot? Read the summary above again. So I guessed the film was mostly about crop circles! Wrong again. Other than the hook on which to hang the plot on (and get us into the theater), the crop circles were of little importance to the film. Of course, now I figured it outâ€"'Signs' was a kid film! Far from it. Kids won't appreciate the lack of alien tension, and as a teacher, I can tell youâ€"the two kids in this film were not only unrealistic, they were surrealistic. (And this guy directed Haley Joel Osment in 'The Sixth Sense'??) All in all, this film was silly, not frightening, and a twisting two-hour journey that really didn’t take us anywhere. It only served to enhance some quippy one-liners by Mel that weren’t all that funny, and give us a positive spin on life. ‘Signs’ will be appreciated (I’m sure) by those who want to adore the face-candy that is Mel Gibson, but the script is weak. It started to deteriorate early when Mel ran around his house trying to ’curse’ the bad old aliens without insulting his office of (former) priest. I wish I had liked this movie. I love theology, aliens, man’s faith in God restored, and all the other things this movie purported to be. But in the end 'Signs' was a big disappointment. Maybe it was trying to be so many things, it succeeded at none.
Rating: 
Summary: Edge of the seat in the theater, a little less in retrospect
Review: "Signs" is a great escapist movie, complete with suspense, humor, and characters you can cheer for. Mel Gibson plays a disillusioned and recently widowed pastor who lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his two children and younger brother Merrill, played by Joaquin Phoenix. When crop circles appear overnight in the pastor's cornfield and the animals in the area begin to act strange, this movie lets loose. Many of the scenes take place in whipping wind or at night or in rooms with long shadows, lending the necessary creepiness to the scenes. The girl who plays Gibson's daughter is unbelievably charming with her childish deadpan delivery and sincere expressions; her natural performance is reminiscent of Drew Barrymore's in "E.T." Rory Culkin, looking shockingly like his older brother in "Home Alone", is less compelling but still competent. Phoenix and Gibson do well separately, although they never seem to have the chemistry of brothers between them. Their strongest scenes are with the children. Gibson's interaction with the female sheriff (who once delivered the news that his wife was dying) and with his neighbor Ray (who was responsible for the pastor's wife's death) also sparkle. I admired Shyamalan's ability to make the audience laugh uproariously one moment and gasp in fright the next. The editing can be confusing at points, but it keeps the suspense tight as the camera blasts from one moment to the next. My biggest disappointment with this movie was how it fell apart after I left the theater. The break-neck pacing doesn't leave the audience much time for thought, which is good, because the script is not nearly as well-developed as "The Sixth Sense." Too much of it is unrealistic and even nonsensical - unfortunately, I can't go into the details without ruining the movie. Anyone who knows Bucks County (and Newtown, which gets a cameo appearance) will cringe at the inaccurate way the area is portrayed. In the theater, though, for a couple of hours, this movie is pure entertainment. It's worth the price of admission (and when it comes out, the cost of the DVD.)
Rating:
Summary: M.Night is a true genius!!
Review: How could anyone possibly find reason to say this movie was not enjoyable. Personally, I absolutely loved it.I failed to find a serious flaw in the film.
Every actor in this film was brilliant and delivered flawless performances. Joaquin(one of my personal favorite actors), known for his flawless dramatic acting, delivered a surprisingly hilarious performance. Mel Gibson was awesome as always. And the childrens acting was unbelievable. For a child to act is a great feat but for that child to act as well as any adult is rare is should be commended. People are not giving M.Night enough credit. Spielberg is credited as being one of if not the best director ever, but he does not write his films. A script has more to do with how good a film is than people realize and M.Night wrote a brilliant script. His script served the purpose of making us laugh, understand the characters and possibly make us think. The film is where the horror and thrills are. His use of camera work is very simple. There are unbelievable shots where all you see are the actors. Their faces are all you need to be scared.There are alot of very frightening quiet moments in this film that work so very well. Furthermore there is not one murder,not one gruesome attack or bloody battle, no real running from the enemy scenes and yet it still is as frightning as any 'boo' horror film. The film may lack originality in its use of aliens attacking but M.Night makes it original by making it very realistic. People aren't freaking out and looting or murdering left and right people are scared which face it no matter how tough you think you are you would be to. The horror and trill of this film is that it makes you scared. It feeds the fears of most people like not knowing your enemy but knowing it's there somewhere, small spaces, seclusion, fear for the lives of your loved ones, hopelessness. It doesn't just go for cheap jumps however there are a few. People who criticize this movie are looking for something before they go. The Sixth Sense comparison is unneccessary. This is coincidentally the director of Sixth Sense. It's not Sixth Sense 2 so who care how it compares. For every bad review you read keep in mind that had this movie not been directed by the director of Sixth Sense, no one would have anything bad to say about it. It would just be a good movie plain and simple. There are some criticisms about the underlying challenges of morals but that part of the film again is very real. It keeps the film realistic while big green goblins are attacking.Life involves morals and beliefs and although the message may seem cheesy at times it's also part if how people develop, and in this film how the characters develop. This film works on so many levels that there is something for everyone. If you just want to laugh, just want to get spooked, if you want it to make you think, if you want to see some awesome acting whatever, then this movie is worth seeing. Hey, see it just to see what everyone's talking about, but see it!!! There is a simplicity and brilliance to it that many people don't get but if you get it you will, as I did, absolutely love and appreciate this film for how good it truly is.
Rating:
Summary: Shyamalan Does It Again!
Review: I'm a big moviegoer, but I rarely have a great sense of anticipation about a movie, because I've learned that the more I look forward to seeing something, the more disappointed I usually am. So far the movies of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan have all lived up to the hype... Signs presents a Close Encounters type scenario, from a more down-to-earth perspective: The Earth may be about to receive an Alien visitation, but rather than taking a Global-response view to the impending crisis, we see the POV of Farmer Graham Hess, a former man-of-the-cloth who has lost his faith in the wake of the tragic death of his wife. The film opens with Graham, his Brother (Joaquin Phoenix), and two children waking to an amazing sight: Their Cornfield has been marked by a Crop-sign, and they soon learn that this is becoming a world-wide phenomenon. The children immediately leap upon the Alien-visitation theory, while Graham and his brother take the more down-to-Earth approach of suspecting local pranksters. Things soon take a more ominous turn, as strange noises are heard, Graham sees a weird figure on the roof of his barn, and the kids begin to intercept snippets of what might be an extra-terrestrial conversation. I kept waiting for Shyamalan to drop the ball.....creating a film that is based so much on the apprehension of a terrible event seems very tricky: If he had slipped up just once, shown a little too much (or not enough), the result could have been laughable. I'm happy to say he not only doesn't make that fatal slip, he actually manages to maintain that feeling of impending dread right until the last frame. I'm pretty jaded as far as fright-films go, but my heart was almost leaping out of my chest towards the end of Signs. This is a film that definitely bears repeated viewings. Gibson is superb as the concerned father whose shaken faith colors every aspect of his life, and Shyamalan has written the part perfectly. (The dinner scene, where one of the kids suggestion that they say Grace is met with an explosive "I WILL NOT WASTE ANOTHER MINUTE OF MY LIFE WITH PRAYER!" is astonshingly effective.) The acting is great all around, and I thought the casting of the Children was especially well-done. The restraint excersized by Shyamalan is very effective in building the mood. We get a feel for what is going on Globally, but our concern never goes beyond the confines of the farmhouse where the Hess Family lives. James Newton-Howard's score is top-notch, and adds tremendously to the overall creepiness of the experience. I can't recommend Signs enough. It's great to see a thought-provoking film amidst the usual summer brainlessness.
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