The Others/Signs

Rating:
Summary: TWO INCREDIBLY GOOD FILMS THAT KEEP THE VIEWER RIVETED...
Review: "The Others"

On the Isle of Jersey, during the last days of World War II, an isolated mansion sits in the enshrouding mists. The house is sparsely, furnished. It is occupied by a mother, Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman), and her children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley). The children are afflicted with a great sensitivity to light. They must, at all times, have the curtains drawn and the shutters closed. Grace's husband, the children's father, had left them to fight in the war. This is a perfect and stark setting for what is to come.

One day, three strangers arrive on her doorstep. Grace presumes that they are there in response to her post for domestic help and hires Bertha Mills (Fionnula Flanagan), Edmund Tuttle (Eric Sykes), and Lydia (Elaine Cassidy) on the spot. Grace instructs them on the idiosyncratic ways she has of handling her children's sensitivity to light. It soon becomes clear, however, that this triumvirate has their own agenda and are not strangers to this house.

Nicole Kidman give a remarkable performance in this film. Tightly wound and controlling, she appears to be a woman on the brink of a breakdown, holding herself together only by a great effort of will, as she awaits her husband's return. Her performance as a lonely wife and seemingly protective mother contributes greatly to the tense and suspenseful atmosphere in the household.

The children give excellent performances. It is the young boy, James Bentley, however, who deserves special mention. He shines in the role of Nicholas, giving a sensitive performance that conveys his pervasive fear of what seems to be going on in the household. It is a poignant and moving performance that will capture the viewer's heart.

Christopher Eccleston is marvelous in the role of Grace's husband and the children's father, who returns all too briefly, conveying an infinite and bittersweet sadness that only adds to the disturbing portents that seem to be gathering about the household. Eccleston is an outstanding actor who manages to contribute greatly to the film in this small, but pivotal, role.

It is, however, Fionnula Flanagan in the role of Bertha Mills who steals the show. Strong and commanding in her performance, it is she, and not Nicole Kidman, who is the backbone of this film. Her presence lends such an eerie and discordant note. Yet, things are not all they seem in this household, as the ending has a surprising twist to it.

This wonderful and highly atmospheric ghost story is one that is sure to delight those appreciative of this genre of film. Beautifully directed by Alejandro Amenabar, it succeeds where others have failed. Relying on well nuanced moments, rather than grotesque special effects, this is a film that is sure to withstand the test of time and emerge as a classic.

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"Signs"

A superlative movie on many levels, this film is about loss of a loved one. It is about family. It is about relationships. It is about things that we cannot control. It is about the inexplicable. It is about destiny. Yes, it is most certainly about alien invasion. It is also ultimately about one man's crisis of faith.

The film centers on the Hess family, which has recently sustained the loss of Colleen Hess in a terrible accident. Graham Hess, a minister in rural Pennsylvania, distraught over the seemingly senseless death of his wife, has left his ministry and is now living a purely secular life with their children and his brother, Merrill. Graham cannot understand why God has seemingly forsaken him. The death of his wife has divested him of his faith, and he finds himself struggling in the world without it.

One morning, Graham discovers crop circles in the cornfield in front of his house. Other strange things begin to happen, all while he is trying to maintain a sense of normalcy in a world that has suddenly changed in a way that he could never have envisioned. Worldwide, crop circles are mysteriously appearing, and, before one knows it, alien invaders are here. They are creepy. They are scary. They do not come in peace. The focus of the film is not so much on the alien invaders, however, but on how the Hess family responds and interacts in this time of crisis.

There are some very frightening scenes in this film. They are all the more frightening for what one does not see rather than what one does see. The effective use of tension by the director, M. Night Shymalan, is one of the great strengths of this film. Sly, subtle humor is also used to great advantage. The other important component of the film is the acting.

There is not one bad performance in this film. Abigail Breslin is delightful as Bo, a child too young to fully comprehend what is going on around her, but who, nonetheless, reacts to its shifting permutations. Rory Culkin gives a wonderfully intense performance as Bo's big brother, a somewhat single-minded child. Joaquin Phoenix infuses the role of Merrill with a vulnerability that is heartbreaking.

Mel Gibson gives a beautifully nuanced and sensitive performance, playing it totally straight with occasional flashes of humor. It is a performance of a conflicted man who cannot bear what has happened to him and does not reach an understanding until it is almost too late. In the end, he is able to see how some of what has happened to his family has had a semblance of a greater design. Even his wife's last words to him, so seemingly meaningless before, grow rich with meaning at the end.

As the film barrels towards its climactic ending, scenes leading up to Colleen's last moments are woven throughout the film. This serves to show the viewer that the events of the present have meaning when grounded in the context of the past. It will come full circle in the end. This is a wonderful, beautiful, suspenseful, and scary film that is well worth seeing.


Rating:
Summary: scariest movies in the world
Review: I enjoyed both of these films they are both very suspenseful they have a good suprise at the end but i dont want to give them away. i personally thought that signs was scarier than the ring. any one that likes ghost movies should see the others and people who love aliens should see signs. this is definitally a great DVD combiation.

Rating:
Summary: Faith, Not Horror
Review: Signs is an excellent movie that most people commonly misintepret as a grotesque, creepy horror film. When in fact, it is a heart throbbing drama that is all about recovering the faith that you abandoned long ago. As signs appear in crop fields around their house, you have to stop and ask yourself, what do you believe. Are you the kind of person who sees signs, miracles. Or do people just get lucky. Or put it this way, is it possible there are no coincidences......That we are not alone