just seen 'signs' --- *possible SPOILERS*

[aversion]

I loved this film, it's a total throwback to the good old days of film making when special effects weren't the focus of a film, and when someone actually bothered to think about characters and suspense and conflict and story and all that good stuff.

sorry for the rant but it's so refreshing to see a film like this. It's not the best film in the world, it's good, but what made me so happy to see it was the way in which it was made, it didn't patronise me with action sequences or paced thrills, it was simply a film that told a story and left the most to your imagination.

from the opening bars of the soundtrack, which are pure bernard herrmann, I knew this would be a film that cared about the audience and wouldn't sacrifice suspense for thrills and special fx. It's so rare to find a film made this way anymore. One of the last ones i remember like this was LA Confidential, but 'signs' is a much smaller film, tighter and concentrated on one family in an isolated location.

I know there will be plenty of people that don't like this film, it's not star wars or bad boys or whatever, this film is crafted, not bolted together. This is a film with a sci-fi theme but there are no overt effects, no 'independence day' style computerised bravado, the film isn't even about heros, it's about people, the story's focus is akin to 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead', it's not about the main players in the ongoing events, it's about what would happen if this happened and you were this one family here, how would you cope, not if you were a hero pilot, or the president, but a simple farmer....

Even the humour in this film is in-tempo... I watched minority report and was digusted with the broad slapdash humour that seemed so out of place, like the part where tom cruise's eyes go rolling down the corridor... what the hell was that about? It only served to drag me out of any sense of being involved in the film, a visual slap in the face if you will. 'Signs' is funny as hell in places, but it never seems to be stuck on, even when the comedy is physical and you're laughing and screaming at the same time you, won't be dragged from a blissful sense of involvement and immersion in the story and the characters.

I'm not going to say anything about the plot, and I would recommend you don't read any giveaway reviews if you're going to see it, but I do recommend you go and see it if you like hitchcock, pre-1980 speilberg, david fincher... it's a cracking film


[rant over]

[NerdInside]

What about the ending? You like the ending?

[aversion]

Originally posted by NerdInside
What about the ending? You like the ending?

the very end... yeah, it's ok, I think there could have been a little more to it, more of a resolution perhaps, but that's ok, I mean life goes on no matter what has occured and that's what the film is partially about.

I don't mind low-key endings if the film is good. The one thing I will say that bothered me a little, and someone else said this too, is that the film is partly about faith and the losing and regaining of it, but the writer/director seems to be mix up faith and belief, or at least to ignore one in favour of the other... I think that would have added a whole other dimension to the story.

[eggler]

[/]

[Fadzter]

haven't heard of it av. sounds real cool. i love intelligent movies, where you have to think (rather than being spoonfed with the storyline)

is it a new release or an oldie?

[Axe324]

i'd see it just because it was written by M.Night.shyamamlan
loved the sixth sense and unbreakable

[aversion]

Originally posted by Fadzter
haven't heard of it av. sounds real cool. i love intelligent movies, where you have to think (rather than being spoonfed with the storyline)

is it a new release or an oldie?

it's a new release, one of the first films to start production after sept 11. I can't recommend it enough to people that like 'cinema'

[johnie]

Parts of it just make no sense??

Why would Aliens that are alergic/destroyed by water want to invade a planet that is 70% water and covered in Water Mist???

Also why would they want to chase animals that are 65% water???

The end was just wasn't worth it.

[hockyfan]

Was it scary/suspenseful as the previews (that I saw) made it look?


h

[rugbystud]

Good 2 hear its a good film aversion! Was looing forward 2 it more than SW and Spiderman 2 b honest! Saw 'Unbreakable' recently, and its just a film that oozes class and quality! Loved the scary trailer!

[thickvision]

First off I'd like to say that I really loved the movie. It had real philosophical themes and great characters. (just a little tid bit: I heard the director plays the role of the guy who 'falls asleep at the wheel.) Anyways, just a big coincidence, I got back from the movie about 10 minutes ago.

First off I would like to agree with aversion. I loved that the intro and ending were just plain text (times new roman) on a circular gradient. It really set the mood that this is all about the movie.

I would like to severely disagree with Aversion and any others complaining about the ending, however. Your right, this was not a Hollywood ending where everything gets explained and the film had complete closure so everybody could leave in a blissful euphoric state that movie makers love so much now-a-days. The ending goes back (like you said aversion) to the earlier films. The ending isn't supposed to be the end of the experience. It's supposed to make you think for at least a little while. It was more of a twilight zone sort of ending.

As for the comment that they didn't like the motivations. First off who gives a damn?! My lord, there is a philosophical ending to a Hollywood thriller (for once), with an ending that makes you question and intrigues one about coincidences and whatnot, and makes you ponder, yada yada yada, and you are honestly saying to yourself 'that allergic to water thing is rubbish.' please get a life. Here how about this, it would never happen period. [sarcasm] A movie about aliens taking over the world? Unrealistic? really!?? no way!! [/sarcasm]

I'd like to say that I really liked the movie, and people should take it for what it is.

[johnie]

There's suspension of disblief and pluasibilty. The fact that the aliens are invading is pluasible if you suspend disbelief enough to believe that there are aliens capable of space travel and they come to earth. However its a far stretch to believe that aliens capable of intergalatic travel are not smart enough to protect themselves from water, one of the more common substances on the planet, if they intended to invade. Its not like almost every living thing on the entire planet doesn't contain a large amount of water and its not like there isn't ever any water around crops... Then again what did they think those Huge Blue Splotches were between the land.

That and why are aliens that are so much stronger physically than humans so easily beaten up by Mel Gibson with a Baseball Bat- It forces you to suspend disbelief to far and isn't consistant and is quite ilogical. Is it becuase he found faith??? And the Rain??? It's just to Deus Ex Machina for my tastes. IMHO if they wanted to do a story about a man losing his faith then they should have just done that or if they wanted to do an alien invasion story then thye should have done that instead of mixing God, Faith, and Alien Invasion together...


Now Road to Perdition- That's one good movie.

[aversion]

Originally posted by johnie
There's suspension of disblief and pluasibilty. The fact that the aliens are invading is pluasible if you suspend disbelief enough to believe that there are aliens capable of space travel and they come to earth. However its a far stretch to believe that aliens capable of intergalatic travel are not smart enough to protect themselves from water, one of the more common substances on the planet, if they intended to invade. Its not like almost every living thing on the entire planet doesn't contain a large amount of water and its not like there isn't ever any water around crops... Then again what did they think those Huge Blue Splotches were between the land.

That and why are aliens that are so much stronger physically than humans so easily beaten up by Mel Gibson with a Baseball Bat- It forces you to suspend disbelief to far and isn't consistant and is quite ilogical. Is it becuase he found faith??? And the Rain??? It's just to Deus Ex Machina for my tastes. IMHO if they wanted to do a story about a man losing his faith then they should have just done that or if they wanted to do an alien invasion story then thye should have done that instead of mixing God, Faith, and Alien Invasion together...


Now Road to Perdition- That's one good movie.

I do agree with a ferw of your points. Road to perdition is a great movie

and yeah, i think it's silly that they should be afraid of water, they could have used something else but I guess it's supposed to be 'baptismal/holy water/they're the devil' kinda thing.

it's specified that they didn't come to earth to invade, they came to harvest, so i guess they weren't planning on staying, they could have planned to leave almost straight away anyway... but still, you would have thought that they would have made some plans to avoid being defeated by water.

as for them being physically stronger, they're not, I don't think, it's not mentioned anywhere in the film to my recollection, so I just assumed they were no stronger than us. Still it's silly to think they wouldn't be able to get through a window with planks over it, I mean they could have just gone to the garage and gotten a tool if they all forgot their guns

but for all these flaws, and I agree that they do ask you to suspend belief too far, I liked the film because of the style of film making, because it made me feel good to go to a film that was made with the thought and care this one had been, with the ability to create suspense not computer graphics.

[miyagiofflash]

Shyamalan and Guy Ritchie are the best two movie makers/writers out there currently....David Fincher being the best novel writer

i just wanted to let everyone know...

[Vox98]

Just came back from seeing "signs" tonight. I thought it was a very good movie. I do agree that the ending could have been better,but what are you gonna to do. I loved the way they had the humour mixed in with the suspense. One second your laughing and the next you jump! Its weird, because its not one of those movies that you watch and say, yeah right like thats gonna happen, but with this movie, you think Holy, this stuff can really happen! There could be another life form out there. They captured the realism. The whole water thing was Ok. They did throw hints through the whole movie about water being some sort of safe haven.

Vox98 movie rating (out of 5): *****

Cheers

[aversion]

Originally posted by miyagiofflash
Shyamalan and Guy Ritchie are the best two movie makers/writers out there currently....David Fincher being the best novel writer

i just wanted to let everyone know...

nice, but david fincher is a film director and has never written anything

[Vox98]

Instead of starting a new thread over this I'll post it here. IVE REACHED 1000 POSTS!!!

[aversion]

Originally posted by Vox98
Just came back from seeing "signs" tonight. I thought it was a very good movie. I do agree that the ending could have been better,but what are you gonna to do. I loved the way they had the humour mixed in with the suspense. One second your laughing and the next you jump! Its weird, because its not one of those movies that you watch and say, yeah right like thats gonna happen, but with this movie, you think Holy, this stuff can really happen! There could be another life form out there. They captured the realism. The whole water thing was Ok. They did throw hints through the whole movie about water being some sort of safe haven.

Vox98 movie rating (out of 5): *****

Cheers

i really think they ended up choosing water to use as a metaphor, you know the whole holy-water-on-the-demon-it-burns-it-burns-! kind of thing, it's not something I gave much thought to in the film and it didn't spoil my enjoyment of it.

I saw a review somewhere that said it was like telling the story of the exodus from egypt from the point of view of a lowly stone cutter. I like the fact that it wasn't about the heros, as I mentioned in my first post, this isn't the story of the people that 'save' the world, it's so great to see a story like this where all the information they know about the invasion is coming to them the same way it would to us, by watching CNN! I loved the part where the tv had gone dead, and that was how they knew the attack had started, that's all we would see too!

I liked the humour too, it wasn't breaking the tempo of the film unlike recent films by speilberg and lucas where the humour just seemed tacked on and so jarring for the viewer..

[Vox98]

Coincidence or Miracle?
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...Stories/story/

[aliensynergy]

I thought it was a good movie as far as suspence goes, that first scene when the dog barked at the little girl made me jump (and everyone else in the theater)

But yeah, somethings in the movie were stupid...like the water, and the fact they weren't smart enough to break through some nailed boards, yet they could achieve space travel? They are smart enough to find alternate routes into the basement, yet they can't figure out how to kick some boards in...
And the fact that the main charachters didn't grab weapons to protect themselves when they went upstairs to check if the aliens had left...also when Mel left that alien in the pantry...why wouldn't you atleast report it to authorities, so they could do tests on it to find a way to get rid of them...

good suspencful movie if you don't think about it to much.