Rating: 
Summary: Scrap "Signs" and buy "Alien" if you want to be scared
Review: This film re-affirms my cynical view of the Hollywood machine: throw in some a-list actors (Gibson and Phoenix) and a hot director with an amazing advertising/pr campaign and 'voila' you have a blockbuster hit. Kudos to the publicist who got M. Night Shyamalan on the cover of "Time." The "Alien" meets "Night of the Living Dead" was an interesting premise, but it just doesn't deliver. During the viewing, I kept asking myself "am I missing something?" And, yes, I get the religious aspects (losing faith, the last supper, revelations, bla bla bla). But at the end of the day, I found the film just plain boring. I would have left it at that until I watched feature afterwards, where M. and his crew talk at length about the film and M.'s technique. What pretentious ...-kissing! Guess M. doesn't stand for "modesty."
Rating:
Summary: Awful!
Review: I've seen some lame movies, but this is one of the worst I've ever seen. This movie is just plain painful to watch start to finish. It's not even the type you can enjoy mocking, it's just plain bad. And to everyone who says "You just don't get the message!"... believe me, I got it. Everyone who has been forced to watch this movie got it. The message is every bit as dull and predictable as the movie itself. Every time the story even starts to get going, something so freaking stupid it makes my very brain ache happens. Have a touching moment about God vs Chance... follow it up with a story about a girl puking on herself. Yep, that's good cinema. We have a family who are so dumb it's sad. No TV, it's evil. Don't ever talk to the girl who swears again, she's evil. Don't ever talk to any people from out of town, they're evil. Don't ever call anyone by anything but their full name, it's evil. Don't prey, it's evil... or something, he doesn't know. Got it? No? Cry about it now, because every 35 minutes there's gotta be a crying scene. Now we get to the aliens. Not only are they absolutely the worst aliens I've seen in ages, they're the stupidest as well. They can't break down a freaking wooden door or boards. Give me a break... these absolute cosmic rejects would be destroyed in mere minutes. This movie is so very flawed it's hard to find the right words to describe it. All I can say is if you see some kind of deep message that you find awe inspiring, you're grasping at straws. Go join a local church group. As Mel pathetically says in a very weak voice: "I'm insane with anger.. arrgh." - Rirath_com
Rating: 
Summary: Keep it up, Night!
Review: I'd give the movie itself 4.5 stars, but the DVD gets only 4 because I'd like a director's commentary. M. Night does provide some insightful extras, but these are not adequate, in my opinion. Night's last 2 films suit my tastes. I know not everybody is going to love his films because they are slow, sparse, deliberate, and character-driven. Many people will be bored senseless by the goings-on of one family on a farm waiting out an alien invasion. I personally love Night's revelatory style, and I love how he involves the audience by allowing them clues as to what direction the movie will take, if only the audience will play along with him. I love his ability to inject reality into his films that make them so resonant. -"I can't hear my children."--Graham
-"Don't ever say anything like that again."--Merrill, scolding his nephew
-Graham startling awake as his daughter stares down at him in bed.
-Merrill falling out of bed when he hears his niece screaming outside. I could personally relate to every one of these instances, and they showed that Shyamalan knows what it means to be part of a family. Night's attention to detail is evident through Mel's restraint when he deals with his athsmatic son. His son is involved in a few situations that would send most kids into crying fits and most parents into fits of worry. However, Graham and his child have developed a resolute calmness because overexertion could trigger a tortuous attack of asthma in the young boy. I don't think the movie was full of holes. If you listen to every line and really understand the charcters, it makes sense. If you just casually observe EVENTS and the most obvious details, the finer points, of course, will be lost. Nobody seems to be allowing for the possibility that not only were the aliens hostile, but they were also arrogant. I was literally squirming in my seat by the end of this movie, and it was so compelling that even my 5 year-old daughter was riveted to the TV screen. Signs in a few words is:
Compelling. Intimate. Revelatory. Coherent. Intense. Delicate. Deliberate. Playful. Personal. Tightly woven. This review was longer than I intended, and will probably only be read by 2 or fewer people, ever, but oh well. I wanted to voice my admiration for Shyamalan and the great potential he has shown, and I hope his list of admirers grows.
Rating:
Summary: A Parents love prevails in the face of world annihilation
Review: I have to say that I sometimes wonder if I'm some how intellectually inferior to these "so called" film critics. Or, maybe my pallet is used to bologna and theirs to caviar. Maybe they are just so desensitized these days that, short of a cinematic masterpiece that's also up for a Pulitzer prize, nothing phases them anymore.... They're almost numb. I thought this movie is an "A" movie not a sensational "B" movie as its being touted by these critics (I do give it 4 stars though). M. Night Shyamalans' 3rd movie is one that takes us back to the older movies that rely on scaring you with the unknown; the door that "creeks" as it's being opened and the dark rooms that scared us so much as children. Not exploding heads or someone being shot up to a million pieces right before our eyes. He also does a nice job of injecting that "nervous humor" from the adults and innocent humor from the children.
This is about the challenges of faith and the strength of a parents love disguised as an alien invasion movie. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is a farmer and former minister, that lives in rural Pennsylvania with his two young children, Morgan (Rory Culkin, Macaulay's brother), who has Asthma, and Bo (Abigail Breslin) who is absolutely adorable and, in my opinion, the next great child actor. Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), who's Graham's brother and one time minor league baseball player, has moved in after the death of Graham's wife six months prior when she was hit by a car. This incident has caused Graham to loose his faith and quit his congregation. Then, sudden appearances of crop circles in his cornfield, which at first is shrugged off as local pranksters, but the over night sightings all over the world challenges Graham and the rest of the world to re-evaluate our belief system. The chemistry between Gibson and Phoenix is very natural and convincing. In fact, this movie was cast extremely well! The movie, at times, can get a little heavy handed with the Fatherly love message but it doesn't "muck up" the movie to the point where you loose interest in the story. Shyamalan gives this movie the same feel that the old Twilight Zone episodes used to have, where you are left with anticipation and your imagination. The 4 stars instead of 5 stems from the fact that he could have punctuated 1 or 2 of the scenes a little with some visuals, instead of lying back like he did. That being said, this is the newest movie to enter my top 10 list of favorites. I can live with the few scenes that were too "light"! As for the Home Theater experience, since the movie is more suspense than action/horror, there isn't much going on that will use the sub(s) or work the surrounds too much. But, when it does use the surrounds, like the scene when the alien is on the roof of the house, the THX certified disc enhances the scene and really makes you anxious! The scenes in the cornfield when the wind is blowing are very convincing! There is a second disc with hours (and I mean hours) of extras!! I'm not an extras guy, strictly meat and potatoes for me!! This is a movie to buy, not rent!!
Rating: 
Summary: This one lost me...................
Review: My two favorite movies of all time are Gladiator and Braveheart which lead me to anticipate that this movie would be a winner. Mel Gibson really shined as Sir Whilliam Wallace in Braveheart and Joaquin Phoenix was fantastic as Emperor Commetus in Gladiator. However, in this movie both were rather a disappointment to me. I think alot of it had to do with the fact that the plot of this film was not able to hold my attention. To merge a priest's loss of his calling due to the senseless death of his wife with a visit to earth from aleins who make crop circles in the farm fields of the area just lost me from the beginning. What is the connection? I have read alot of reviews on this movie and what surprised me the most is that virtually no one takes the middle of the road; you either like it alot or not at all. Fans of Mel Gibson should give it a chance like I did and draw your own conclusions.
Rating:
Summary: Bad premise, poorly done
Review: I resent having to give this sorry excuse for entertainment even 1 star. Aliens who are killed by water invade Earth - just proves that interstellar spaceflight can be accomplished by idiots. And it gets worse as it painfully drags to a final scene which, as an atheist, I found highly offensive. If a film has a religious adgenda, I wish it was so noted so that those who did not want to be hit over the head with 'crisis of faith/faith conquers' all plots could spend their money elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Shyamalan Phenomenons (3.5 stars)
Review: It's becoming a staple of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan to explore paranormal phenomenons with his films. "The Sixth Sense" encapsulated the world's deeply rooted belief in the afterlife and the existence of restless spirits (ghosts); "Unbreakable" explored the inexplicable chance of surviving horrific catastrophes with either minor or no injuries sustained (the unexplained/miracles). Now with his latest project, Shyamalan explores the phenomenon of crop circles and the possibility of life on other planets. In short, aliens. Like his previous work, "Signs" is a deliberately paced film, slowly building the suspense as a no-name place like Bucks County, PE becomes the center of extraterrestrial activity. The movie begins with widowed and retired reverend Graham Hesse (Gibson) waking from a restless sleep to the sound of Bo (Breslin) and Morgan (Culkin), his two young children, screaming from the cornfields. He rushes out in a panic to find the both of them staring raptly at a circular patch of flattened stalks, one of many shapes that form an intricate pattern on nearly half his field. Before long, crop circles start appearing en masse and soon there is a national uproar with news stations all over the world airing frightening footage 24 hours a day. The obsession of Graham's children and his brother Merrill (Phoenix) grows when Morgan purchases an obscure reference on aliens from a local bookstore, sharing his wealth of information with his highly skeptical father. Graham is soon wrapped up into it all as everything that Morgan reads and tells him becomes a reality, the group relying on their child messiah to guide them through the distinct possibility of a hostile invasion. Shyamalan gives us another small cast of characters, creating the illusion of total isolation with the stillness of the Hesse family's sprawling acres. Gibson is the stand-out as the tortured Graham, struggling to raise his children while grieving their deceased mother. Rory Culkin and Abigail Bentley are Morgan and Bo, Graham's precocious children; there seems to be a wealth of Culkin boys and it looks like Rory's the last in a long line, not to mention the best of them all so far. People will find it hard not to crack a smile when Breslin's immense, puppy-dog eyes are consuming the screen and her tiny voice is asking Gibson for a glass of water (Bo has a fear of contamination). Joaquin Phoenix, Cherry Jones and Shyamalan make up the supporting cast. Phoenix, having played many a queer and tortured soul (Gladiator, To Die For) in films past gets to show off comedic abilities no one knew he had. Shyamalan is a fair actor but he's better off behind the camera. Although he does an adequate job as an anguished neighbor named Ray (he has cameos in both of his previous films), his character serves no other purpose than to conspicuously drop an integral clue for the film's climactic ending. Although "Signs" is for the most part moody and suspenseful, it's also speckled with humor, particularly the farce involving long-documented folklore about aliens. Shymalan goofs his own subject matter and gets genuine laughs, the many diverse superstitions of his audience (skeptics and believers alike) meshed into a universal humor. Overall, the film will entertain most audiences but it only packs half the frightening punch of the "The Sixth Sense". Those looking to get the creeps will feel a little disappointed but nonetheless satiated. Rent "Signs" if you crave a good-old fashioned thriller with light scares and a director who will never tire of exploring the strange and unusual.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: There is a deeper meaning to this movie other than "ET's".
I loved SIXTH SENSE and M.Night Shyamalan urges the viewer to think past the obvious and be more aware of SIGNS all around us...some guiding us through this life if we are aware.
Rating:
Summary: This one should come with it's own sign: Boring
Review: Another alien invasion movie. It is about crop circles appearing around the world, signs of visitors from another world and everyone is freaking out. It was dark, dreary, and the acting...wow was it bad! Everyone acted as if they were zombies staring mindlessly in space or at their televisions and talking to themselves. Then the real message came out. Mel Gibson's character is an ex-father and has lost his faith in God and is looking for a sign to re-new his faith. If I knew this movie was simply geared toward clinging to a religion instead of learning to be strong enough to stand on our own 2 feet, I never would have bothered with it. But then again, to mix religion with aliens and science is a different approach, one which I applaud, for if you believe your God created everything, then he created the aliens as well. Still this doesn't make up for this movie being really boring. I am sure the director had good intentions but it is a very slow paced B-movie.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This movie was about a farmer who happens to be an ex-father, whose wife just died, and is living with their two kids & his brother. Early one morning the find crop circles in thier crop. It was orginally thought to be a hoax but later prooved wrong.
It was a great thinking movie as well as a great scary movie. However, people who just like the scary part may be a little bored when it comes to the stuff you have to think about afterwards. Also, it jumps right into the plot and you don't get to see daily life before the ailen stuff starts.
Overall, it was a great movie and leaves you thinking are you a part of group 1 or group 2.
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