Rating: 
Summary: Signs - Unpolished
Review: I looked forward to "Signs" since its trailers looked great. Too bad the film didn't live up to its potential.I feel that Mel Gibson was miscast in this movie. While I love him in other films, this was not suited to his abilities. He plays a minister who lost his faith upon the death of his wife. First off, this is highly cliché. The best acting job was actually done by the young Culkin boy. I just could not be convinced that Gibson was a priest as he tried too hard to fit the role. It's evident in the perception the viewer receives of his struggle. Besides the miscast of the main role, the symbolism was too easily evident. I'll not go into what it is for those who haven't viewed the movie yet, but I will let you know that if you have an IQ higher than your height in centimeters, you'll spot atleast one of the three primary symbolisms that comes to fruition at the end of the movie. I was left wondering why the flashback scenes were done the way they were at the times they were done. For instance, when you are scared senseless at what lies behind door number one and you know it's something hair-raising, why would you go into a flashback that lasts a few minutes? This has been done in the past and perfected for smart opportune times. They were not placed well here. The aliens that visit have much to be desired as far as the costume. I can think of other flicks that had comperable aliens: the "sleastaks" from Land of the Lost; "Gorn" from the original Star Trek series; "Godzuki" from the Japanese Godzilla series; the martians in "Mars Attacks"! This was quite [poor]! I'm not going to go into the rest of the story because I don't want to spoil the story for you. I'll just say that the ONLY things I really liked about the movie is the suspense and the child actors. There are too many holes in this movie and too many parts that have you muttering, "but why doesn't he have with him?" This movie had great potential but flopped for this viewer. Save your money and rent it instead. This will not be added to my DVD collection in the future unless given as a gift.
Rating: 
Summary: THE CHILLING THRILLER
Review: Signs was AWESOME!Mel Gibson is terrific in this movie.And Joaquin Phoenix from gladiator and quills is FANTASTIC also.This movie makes you Jump at times.It is a Chilling thriller and is not a waist of your money.
Rating: 
Summary: War of The Worlds
Review: Basically if you have seen War of The Worlds then you have already seen this movie. the method is different in which the aliens are vulnerable and you never really see the attack but most of it is the same theme. It is a good story and a good film but not original by far, however it is worth the time to go see or if you have something better in mind waiting on the dvd release would be my suggestion.
Rating: 
Summary: "Signs" scores high on two levels
Review: I very much enjoyed "Signs" both for the horror thrills it offers and the underlying story line of family, loss, renewal all centered around a rousingly scarry event. M. Night proves once again his sense of storytelling unfolding before you with a pace that builds the suspense levels and then some comic moments of relief. Mel Gibson does a good job as the father, have seen him better but this is by no means a "throw-away" performance. He runs the required gamut of emotions with ease and he once again proves his versatility. The supporting cast is fine, especially the two children. The special effects are minimal and well done, but most of the "effects" are left to your imagination. And isn't that the best effect of all?I would recommend this movie to all who enjoy a good scarry tale, tipped slightly with plot-enhancing reality-stretching moments. Overall a good couple of hours well spent.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but no "Unbreakable." Extremely poor ending.
Review: WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. I read several reviews for this movie before I went to see it. Some were positive, some negative, but I thought to myself, "The critics hated 'Unbreakable', and it was great. This writer / director has talent, and I think he'll make another great movie." I was right, and I was wrong. This movie was very well put together, with some great shots, some very tense moments, and extremely good acting on the part of everyone. However, I found the scene where Gibson expressed his cynical skepticism much more believable than when he regained his faith. There was essentially nothing there which would cause anyone to regain faith after losing it in the way he did. Circumstance took away his wife, and circumstance saved his son. Where does God enter the picture? I'm an atheist, so perhaps my standards are a bit higher than the director's for this sort of thing. I would have greatly preferred the aliens if they had stayed out of sight more. Yes, the CGI was great looking, but still distracting, and it took away from the story. Finally, the "primitive" method of killing the aliens was so lame as to practically ruin the movie in and of itself. There is no way that an alien which is hurt by water could survive in our atmosphere, nor would any such alien want to interact with humans. The writer should at least talk to a highschool chemistry student before putting something like this in his movie. In the end, I think this was a very well made, but deeply flawed movie. It showcased the talents of everyone involved, and was beautiful to watch. My main complaint is that everything was wrapped up too neatly in the end. This might have been fine, but I got the feeling that it was very ad hoc.
Rating:
Summary: This is no "Sixth Sense"!!!!
Review: This is the worst science fiction film I have ever seen. Yes, it was funny in many spots, certainly suspenseful, but ultimately very unsatisfying. The film was not about crop circles, nor really about an alien invasion, but about one cleric's fall from faith as a result of his wife's macabre death. If that was the story, did we really need an alien invasion to boost Mel back in the saddle as a man of faith? C'mon! Some lesser event would have sufficed, and THAT would have been a touching story. Mel Gibson is always a fine actor, but the plot could not support his emotional load. Joaquin Phoenix, also a fine actor, was wasted in the role as his brother. He must have needed to pay rent to take this role. It certainly did nothing for his career. I kept wondering if that scar on his lip was visible in "Gladiator," a film I have enjoyed numerous times.The TV coverage of the invasion was unconvincing at best, unworthy of even a '50s scifi movie. The scene in the restaurant was as staged as a scene could be. A table in the doorway of a restaurant? The water theme was unresolved. Was that a baptismal image that got stuck in the writer's pen? The details of the wife's death itself, when finally revealed were unbelievable. Better to have had the whole idea of an alien invasion be a mass hysteria than to have the dreaded alien actually appear. (One infers that bad aliens have knobby fingers and vicious nails while good aliens have suckers on the ends of their fingers.) Lines such as, "They are only trying to make noise, they're not trying to get in." went nowhere. Such confusion led me to think that Mel's wife's command to him to "see," might mean that the alien was trying to cure his son, not kill him. But then we wouldn't have had room for poor Joaquin to redeem his own fallen career as a promising baseball player by "swing[ing] away" at the alien. Gee whiz, Mr. S, this was no "Sixth Sense"!!!!
Rating:
Summary: O'Henry reincarnated.
Review: In the first half of the 20th century, O'Henry was one of the most famous writers of his time, famous for his twist endings. He wrote the oft reworked story, The Gift, about a young, poor wife who sells her beautiful long hair she's loved since childhood, to buy a chain for the pocket watch her husband loves. Her husband sells his watch to buy a beautiful comb for her hair. M. Night Shyamalan may be this century's O'Henry, telling stories with wonderful twists-- twists with otherworldly elements. I was surprised and a bit disappointed, before seeing Signs, since the reviews I encountered gave marginal ratings. But I enjoyed both of Shyamalan's other flicks, so I saw the movie the first chance I got. The theater, the biggest in a a mega movie house of 24 theaters, was totally filled. And I was not disappointed. This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat 98% of the time. It follows all the rules for good story creation and I got what I want in a movie-- a good emotional experience, with a chill, a shiver or a heartwarming good feeling. I left the movie very satisfied. The story: it's about crop circles which appear on Mel Gibson's farm in Buck's County. He doesn't believe, but his kids and brother do. As the film goes into the second act and the story intensifies, Gibson struggles with his demons. We meet the aliens, and Shyamalan delivers a nicely woven, layered, twist ending which pulls all the pieces together. Bottom line, this movie delivered.
Rating:
Summary: Gets worse the more you think about it...
Review: I am sorry, but I don't understand how this movie is garnering so much praise! I really wanted to like it, and went to see it on the first night (which is something that I rarely do), but am giving it more than one star only because there are quite a few touching and/or funny moments. Overall, the whole story is entirely too implausible. You end up waiting for that Night trademark twist ending that will make the whole mess make sense, but it never comes. This movie dies with a whimper.
Rating:
Summary: Wait Till You See the "Signs" For This At the Video Store
Review: I was really looking forward to this movie. I wondered how Hollywood would deal with the crop circle enigma. I wanted to enjoy the abundant talents of Mel Gibson and Joachin Phoenix. The special effects looked great on the trailers. It turned out that it wasn't a bad movie but it sure wasn't a good movie, either. I suggest that you might not want to pay movie theatre prices to see this one and that you save it for the video release. The script is pretty awful, very wooden in spots, not like real people talking to each other. The country cop, played with skill by Cherry Jones, is stereotyped with a pathetically folksy script. The military recruiter is a silly characature as is one of the local bad boys in a cut-off leather jacket with a bad hair day happening. A teenaged girl who is worried for her soul because of all her cursing is ridiculous and unnecessary to the film. Be forewarned, multiple use of the word "douche-bag" actually passes for humor in this film. Attempting to make the townspeople around Bucks County, PA seem simple turns them into one dimensional people. The plot is so preachy it is obvious and transparent from the moment we learn that Mel's character is a minister who has quit the church and won't spend another minute of his life praying because his wife was killed by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel. Wonder if Minister Mel will change his thinking by the end of the film? Mel does his best with the limited script and makes his grief as well as his bewilderment in dealing with small children as a single parent very believable and touching. Phoenix is also excellent with the emotional parts of his role and adds a wonderful understated comic aspect to it as well. The two children in the film are cute and endearing and that's about it but that works just fine in this film. Their characters introduce both levity and pathos to the plot. The crop circles or signs look very realistic and are well filmed. The news broadcasts that pepper the film are useful plot movers and are done well.
The plot of the movie is very absurd. There is an undercurrent of prescience which is not clearly developed. There are aliens that find it impossible to escape from a wooden pantry closet but who can bust through boarded up doors and windows, roofs and coal cellar chutes with ease. The alien aspect of the movie is so dumb it can't even match up with those sci-fi monster movies of the '50s. The human characters' response to the alien problem is utterly unbelievable as is the government response. The ending is so predictable I think I could have described it lick for lick even if I had left the theatre midway through the film.
There are some suspenseful parts achieved with camera angle and sound but for the most part the film left me uninvolved. I enjoyed Gibson and Phoenix. I enjoyed the kids. I wish I could say better things about this movie, but unfortunately I can't.
Rating:
Summary: Running like water
Review: Wow, im not really a fan of the horror genre, mostly because i find the movies too predictable, and overall they don't scare me. Signs has given me hope. It was very entertaining, and i found my finger clenched to the arm rest throughout most of the movie. The corn Fields freaked me out. I think i will never venture out into a cornfield at night again. The use of camera Angles, and music greatly highlight key sequences, and somehow seem to make ordinary occurances scary as hell. Pro's: * Excelent soundtrack
* Mel Gibson
* Jaquin Phoenix Con's * Weak script at points
* children over/ under act a little
* couldn't fall asleep afterwords, and i had to get up early (not really a con... but i needed 3)
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