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Signs (Vista Series)

Signs (Vista Series)

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $11.24
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Anti-Independence Day
Review: BR>So many films have taken on the subject of alien visitations/invasions. "War of the Worlds" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" remain two of my favorites of this genre, presenting the subject in a more intelligent way than many of their contemporaries. But what no other film has really done for me is to capture the deep-seated fear bordering on panic ... . M. Night Shyamalan is the first director to capture this gut feeling for me. He understands that fear of the unknown remains the greatest fear of all in both life and on film. ... The shock of revelation and discovery can only be frightening for a moment before we start to adjust. Shyamalan knows this and draws these moments out, allowing our own imaginations to supply what scares each of us the most by not giving us a distinct form to focus on, at least initially. And he does this in a skilled way that I do not consider a cop out or cheat. We are shown global events from the increasingly claustrophobic viewpoint of one fearful household. ...

I thought the actors' performances were spot on. Unfortunately, there are numerous gaping holes in the plot that undermine the overall effect. ...P>I am willing to overlook other implausibilities because Shyamalan's movie-making skills create suspense that captures the fear and dread of such an event as few other films have. Independence Day had more aliens than you could count, and I never found myself frightened ... ." Signs gets the feeling and the fear across even if it leaves some implausibilities unanswered in the process. I really enjoyed it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: SIGN? I'LL GIVE YOU A SIGN! STOP!
Review: Stop! Don't waste your money! The reviewers must have been paid off., This script is beyond bad. I can't believe how insipid it is. People in this movie said things and acted like aliens themselves,in that it was so unatural and forced. And for not delivering. If you did not like this movie-don't feel like you are the alien. It's the reviewers-they obviously have taken over and are promoting movies that star their relatives! Yuck Yuck Yuck! This movie is an insult to all thinking people.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good, but not as good as Sixth Sense
Review: This movie was good, told in Shyamalan's usual suspenseful fashion and with a final ending piece (if not actually a 'twist' like his previous two) that gives the story meaning. However, the impact and plot just wasn't the same caliber as Sixth Sense; the idea of aliens being Burroughs-esque green men who come to earth to beat people up and conquer is too much of a dead horse to enthuse me to the point of calling the film 'excellent'. Granted, the movie isn't so much about the aliens as it is about the family and the faithless vs. the faithful, but still, I don't think it was quite enough to reach my top 5.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: BETTER THAN JURASSIC PARK,TITANIC,AND BRAVEHEART COMBINED
Review: I HAVE SEEN THIS MOVIE TWO TIMES AND IT WON'T BE THE LAST! I HAVE SEEN SOME MOVIES IN MY DAY BUT NOTHING WILL EVER COME CLOSE TO SIGNS! MEL GIBSON CAN PLAY ANYTHING! IN THIS MOVIE HE IS A FORMER MINISTER WHO LOSES HIS FAITH WHEN HIS WIFE WAS KILLED BY ACCIDENT, HE LIVES WITH HIS TWO CHILDREN AND HIS BROTHER.STRANGE THINGS START TO HAPPEN WHEN AN UNKNOWN CROP CIRCLE IS FORMED! I DON'T WANT TO TELL A WHOLE LOT BUT ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT THIS PERFECT MOVIE HAS ACTION, ADVENTURE, DRAMA, HUMOR, AND MAJOR SUSPENSE. I LOOK FOR THIS MOVIE TO WIN BEST PICTURE, AND IF IT DOESN'T THERE WILL BE A WHOLE LOT OF DISAPPOINTED PEOPLE OUT THERE.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: All ¿Signs¿ Point to an Incredibly Scary Movie!
Review: All I can say is wow. That was pretty much my reaction when I walked out of the theater. That was pretty much my reaction when I stopped shaking, which wasn't until 15 minutes after the end credits started to roll. My muscles are so sore from shaking for an hour and a half, I think I may have trouble getting to sleep tonight.

"Signs" stars Graham Hess (played by Mel Gibson), his brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix of "Gladiator" fame), and Graham's two children, Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin). Graham is a priest-turned-farmer, wallowing in the wake of his wife's death. But that is just one of the problems facing him when this movie starts. If you've seen previews of this film, you no doubt know that crop circles center heavily in the storyline. But never in a way that you would expect.

Now I will admit that about 30 minutes into the film, I sat in the theater thinking, "Where in the heck is this all leading to?" I was starting to think that this movie was going to be a major dud, and that I'd forked over [money] for disappointment. But that's when the movie slams on the gas pedal and doesn't slow down. This is the only movie - and I mean, the ONLY movie - that has made my body shake for an hour and a half. The tension and dread-like feeling of "What's going to happen next?" is absolutely excruciating. M. Night Shyamalan (who wrote, directed, produced, AND acted in this movie) is clearly taking over as the King of Suspense when it comes to thriller-type movies. He knows just when to hit you full-force in the face with something; he knows when to hint at something; and he's very good at making you think one thing is going to happen when something else really does.

I will not go much further into this film. I don't want to give away any plot points. But, my gosh, you cannot go wrong with this film. If you liked such great movies such as "The Others" and "Sixth Sense," this movie will be right up your haunted alley. If you are looking for a movie where the power of suggestion is more frightening than what you might actually see, this movie is for you (I could write an entire review just based on that in and of itself).

Go see this movie. It has everything you want in a classic, edge-of-your-seat, scary movie. It made this reviewer coward and shake for an hour and a half, and that NEVER happens to me. Heck, it made the entire theater audience do that!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Signs, not all it could have been
Review: This movie had so much potential but like the directors other two films "Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" it failed to please. the acting is good, and Joaquin is amazing as he is in all of his movies, even Mel Gibson impressed me. There is some cunning dialoge and some funny bits throw in at just the scariest moments, making them even funnier, though you do feel bad for laughing sometimes. But the way the film was hyped up i was expecting so much more, i will not spoil anything, but M. Night really needs to work on writing much more fulfilling stories that at the last minute do not disspoint. Out of his trilogy of films i would have to say "unbreakable" is my favorite, a great movie haltered only but a fake and easy ending, much like signs.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: MAYBE 30 MINUTES OF MOVIE
Review: Admittedly, I am not a Christian or a person of any particular faith. In my opinion, organized religion (including the Republican Party) has been, and continues to be, the cause of most of the evil in the world. What has this to do with Signs? The premise of the movie is that there are no coincidences; all events are parts of the divine, pre-destined puzzle, that inexorably lead to spiritual enlightenment -- hokum and bunk, simply put.
Mel Gibson is known to his friends and neighbors as Father Hess, though he doesn't want to be called that now, because he's not a "Reverend" any more, since his wife was killed in a freak car accident, and he's lost his faith, you see? What puzzled me for most of the movie is what kind of preacher-man was he? Besides Catholics and, I guess, Episcopalians, what sect's leaders wear collars and and are addressed as Father? And a Catholic or Episcopalian Priest wouldn't refer to himself as "Reverend". Reverend is an adjective. Altar-dwellers are ministers or preachers or priests, or some other noun. I dwell on this, because it is representative of the countless inconsistencies to be found in the movie, which make it seem like it exists in an alternate universe.
This movie is so predictable, I could have given an outline of the plot after the first 5 minutes. But, M. Night makes us sit through excrutiatingly long scenes which are meant to be suspenseful, but couldn't be more boring. Are all the countless extreme closeups of Mel Gibson's face really necessary? He maintains the same blank stare throughout -- what's the point? It's a darn nice looking farm Father Mel has there, but who the heck is running it? Mel never raises a finger and his moocher brother apparently works at a gas-station. Why is it in movies of this kind that kids are always smarter that grownups? Reality -- I think not. And the (pardon the expression) "action" scenes? It's almost as though his cameraman was drunk. The focus is invariably on inanimate objects while something (who knows what) supposedly exciting is happening.
About those aliens. They have mastered the technology to travel countless light-years through the vast emptiness of space to come to earth -- for what? They appear in huge spaceships, around the globe, attack, and we kick their butts in less than a day. Well, no wonder. They can't even escape from a pantry.
I've seen several articles comparing Shyamalan to Hitchcock (in his dreams). As did Hitchcock, he likes to appear in his movies in "cameos". The part he plays in Signs is not a cameo. It is a featured part that could and should have been played by an actual actor (which M. Night most certainly is not). His appearance only further underlines the unreality of the film's world.
This movie would have been a pretty good Twilight Zone episode -it may have 30 good minutes.
Oh, one last thing, when was the last time you saw a test pattern on a television screen?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lots of flair and class--go see this movie pronto!!
Review: The best way to enjoy this movie is to take it like it is and not try and do comparisons to the director's other films. Night wastes no time in diving into the plot of this movie, right from the very start of the flick. Mel Gibson is so moving as a jaded former Catholic priest, and his love for his children in the film is very engaging. The sweet little girl who plays his daughter will have you laughing and saying "awww" a dozen times or more, and Rory Caulkin is pretty good too as a kid with more wisdom than most his age, and who suffers from asthma. There are many funny moments in the film, where humor is used in the oddest ways. I was surprised at the sci-fi touch that this movie had, but for me the suspense of not getting to see the aliens until towards the end(in the beginning they are shadows and shapes) made the movie better than if the aliens would have been shown right off the bat(I swear I am not giving anything away with that comment--the plot of the movie is a possible alien attack via the crop circle evidence). The best part about this film is Night's use of subtle wisdom, subtle humor, and plot detail. This is a movie that you will walk out of the theatre thinking about, and you will be absorbing meaning over issues dealt with, in addition to thinking about how touching the whole thing was. Please don't listen to the negative critics--this movie is worth all 5 stars!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Very Different Approach to a Movie
Review: (The following review is "spoiler free.")

Let it be known that chances are there's going to be a lot of people who are going to be disappointed with this movie. Especially if they're expecting another "Sixth Sense" or another movie with a shocking and twisted ending. If you want "Sixth Sense," then go see "Sixth Sense." If you want to see "Signs," then see "Signs." This was a very different movie. I enjoyed it very much, but at the same time I thought there were things that could've been done to make the movie better.

Another thing I want you to know is that I was one of the few who absolutely LOVED "Unbreakable," which people thought was slow and boring. Just want to show you that I have an open mind and I went into this film, not wanting to see another "Sixth Sense" or "Unbreakable," and I don't have a problem with a movie having more story than action.

The story is simple. Mel Gibson plays a father who has lost faith every since the tragic death of his wife. Now, it's just him, his two kids, and his brother. Things are happening. Very strange things. It all starts with crop circles. Then, more things start to happen. (I really don't want to go into detail, because I don't want to give anything away.) The movie doesn't focus on how the world deals with the problem, it focuses on the FAMILY, and how they deal with it.

This movie is pretty scary, for a PG-13 movie. There are a lot of frightening moments that make you jump out of your seat, and it's done without a lot of special effects or CGI. And the trailer does a good job of not giving too much away.

The acting was really good. Everyone did a good job. Mel, of course, was outstanding. The kids were also great. I liked how it was filmed and directed. Lots of complicated shots and close-ups, very much like in the director's last two movies.

I just thought that this movie was a lot different than I expected. Maybe I was hoping for too much. I think the movie is really good, but it's nothing special or spectacular. I think the critics are putting a little too much hype onto the movie. Plus, this was one that I could not figure out if I liked it or not until a couple of hours afterwards. Mainly, because I was with my friends when I saw this, and they weren't too impressed. So, this is one you'll have to be by yourself afterwards and decide if you like it or not.

All in all, it's a pretty good movie. Again, don't go into this expecting another "Sixth Sense." That is the wrong approach to take when seeing this movie. I really don't want to compare movies, but if I must, it is a lot like "Unbreakable," meaning that there is a lot of story and character development. So, this is one that no one can really help you decide if you'll like it or not. I enjoyed it, but I can't recommend it, because I know that the feedback on this movie is going to be very mixed. You're on your own, but if you want to see a really different movie with some really scary moments and top-notch suspence, then "Signs" just might be the movie for you.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dumb and illogical
Review: A good looking movie, but it sure won't hold up to any kind of logical scrutiny. Probably more stuff out of sync with reality than any movie I have ever seen. First, what kind of "Father" was the guy? He was married so he sure wasn't a Catholic. Second, why didn't he call the police when he first realized the aliens were locked up in the basement? Third, with all their advanced technology the aliens couldn't break into one tired old farmhouse? Fourth, they all just stood there when the alien grabbed the boy? Fifth, the alien with all its advanced tech was easily taken out with a baseball bat? Sixth, the TV screen segments looked and sounded fake. Zemekis did them ten times better in Contact. But what got me most was how superficial.was the moral message. The "Father" drops out when something bad happens. He drops back in when something good happens. What a miserable example of faith. I can see how the rest of his life goes. His kid flunks algebra, he drops out. He wins fifty bucks in the lottery, he drops back in, etc., etc. The next Spielberg? Bah! Spielberg isn't that great, but M. Night is several cuts below.


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