SIGNS - This movie sucks major arse!

[Kramerman]

but the actions of the characters seem inplausible during the middle and then everything seems to fall away very sharply with an absolutely ludicrous ending...

I agree. Why, in the world did they not get a gun? Why would they even consider stayng in their house right next to the crop circle- a friggin beacon? The explanation for why the aliens didnt use technology was poor. Though, the movie was suspenseful and interesting for most parts, and it was scary, so i would give it an average 5/10.

[devilmunchkin]

i saw signs and it was ok....
I've been seeing alot of movies lately where a person has "lost god" and ends up "coming back into the fold of xianity" again...which is..well....yuck! i think it's cheesy and too typical of alot of films...it breaks a screenplay writing rule: don't preach!
Signs was ok to see once but not one to go spend money on again. I haven't seen unbreakable so i can't comment on that, but i did enjoy 6th Sense MUCH better.

i actually viewed this movie as a pseudo comedy..the kids cracked me up..the whole audience laughed..and perhaps that's what the director wanted..because then we'd scream at thumps and what not..kind of messing with our emotions...but it was a mediocre movie.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
Because you can see the emissions their engines make at night

Emissions? EMISSIONS?!! Gee they have outdone themselves again. I cannot imagine a craft that can breach the great interstellar void is not completely self-contained.

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
The family picks up their communications over the baby monitor, so what are you talking about?

No encryption for the aliens? What kind of high tech people are these?

Then again, it's no dumber than Independence Day

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
I liked the movie. It wasn't superb, but was entertaining enough to keep my attention for 2 hours. I think you guys quibbling over the science fiction aspect of it need to get a life. That's not what the film is about.

I have to disagree. There is such a thing as suspension of disbelief. It's what makes a film believable. If suspension of disbelief is ruined how can a viewer take it seriously anymore?

[CyberGnu]

I tried and tried and tried to come up with a theory about these poor aliens... The best I could come up with were that they were basically interstellar barbarians. Understanding of techonology lost when their civilization collapsed, they roam space in search after... something. The first part explains the lack of even basic technology for hand-to-hand combat and the shileding by day but not by night, the second part explains the two day wait before the invasion begun (they tried to find whatever it was they were looking for without landing, but since they failed the landed en masse).

Also thought a little about that water thing. If they react that violently to water, they would have burned up even in relatively dry atmospehere... Anyone who has ever done a Grignard reaction knows that.

However, what if it wasn't the water that did it? How about chlorine? Or even better, chloride? Most tapwater in the world is clorinated, the pennsylvania farmhouse was probably no exception. A lake has a slight but measurable quantity of chloride, sea water quite a bit. Rain or moisture on the other hand would be harmless.

Doesn;t really salvage the movie for me, however... Do take some intellectual pride in managing to patch the huge enormous plot holes, but it still leaves me with the same feeling I often get from hollywood pictures: if they are going to spend a few million dollars on special effects, why can't they spend $5 to get some dyslexic homeless person to at write a script?

[The Mad Monk]

In Alien Nation the aliens had a severe problem with salt water.

[reismark]

For the record: Signs rules, M. Night Shyamalan is Michael incarnate. End of discussion.

The people who bash this movie are looking at the "big picture" too much. Yes, whoever suggested that this movie is meant to be a "small-town War of the Worlds" is exactly right, but you're putting too much emphasis on the "War of the Worlds" part of it. If the aliens were truly vital to the theme of the movie, we wouldn't have had to wait until the very end to see them clearly. This movie is about faith and family dynamics - the alien invasion is merely secondary, and it's merely the catalyst for all of the re-examination and self-discovery.

Three simple and concise reasons why Signs rules:

-- If this movie doesn't get nominated for its sound, I'll eat my hat. This is the first movie in YEARS that has genuinely scared the hell out of me - and it had so much to do with the haunting silence, the "shock-alert" sound effects, and the Hitchcockian soundtrack.

-- Have you ever been to a movie where you've been both scared out of your mind and delirious with laughter? That's exactly the trick this film manages to pull, and a lot of it has to do with the work of Joaquin Phoenix and the kids. You mock that picture of the three of them sitting on the bed with the tinfoil hats - in the context of the film, that sight is not only unspeakably hilarious but also very moving. You *sympathize* with these characters. Anyone have real sympathy for the people stalked by Chucky or the T-1000? I didn't think so.

-- The reason I love Shyamalan's work: Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that we find out is important in the end. Too many films these days throw out stuff that does nothing to enhance our image of a character. But everything ties in together: Merrill being a failure at baseball. Bo's dislike of "contaminated" water. Morgan's asthma. Colleen's final words. They ALL mean something in the end. Too often, things like this are just left floating in the breeze.

I waited a year for this, and I was not disappointed. It's one of the most immensly satisfying films I've ever seen and is worthy of its placement on the IMDB list. Period.

[red_jon]

Originally posted by reismark
For the record: Signs rules, M. Night Shyamalan is Michael incarnate. End of discussion.

The people who bash this movie are looking at the "big picture" too much. Yes, whoever suggested that this movie is meant to be a "small-town War of the Worlds" is exactly right, but you're putting too much emphasis on the "War of the Worlds" part of it. If the aliens were truly vital to the theme of the movie, we wouldn't have had to wait until the very end to see them clearly. This movie is about faith and family dynamics - the alien invasion is merely secondary, and it's merely the catalyst for all of the re-examination and self-discovery.

Three simple and concise reasons why Signs rules:

-- If this movie doesn't get nominated for its sound, I'll eat my hat. This is the first movie in YEARS that has genuinely scared the hell out of me - and it had so much to do with the haunting silence, the "shock-alert" sound effects, and the Hitchcockian soundtrack.

-- Have you ever been to a movie where you've been both scared out of your mind and delirious with laughter? That's exactly the trick this film manages to pull, and a lot of it has to do with the work of Joaquin Phoenix and the kids. You mock that picture of the three of them sitting on the bed with the tinfoil hats - in the context of the film, that sight is not only unspeakably hilarious but also very moving. You *sympathize* with these characters. Anyone have real sympathy for the people stalked by Chucky or the T-1000? I didn't think so.

-- The reason I love Shyamalan's work: Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that we find out is important in the end. Too many films these days throw out stuff that does nothing to enhance our image of a character. But everything ties in together: Merrill being a failure at baseball. Bo's dislike of "contaminated" water. Morgan's asthma. Colleen's final words. They ALL mean something in the end. Too often, things like this are just left floating in the breeze.

I waited a year for this, and I was not disappointed. It's one of the most immensly satisfying films I've ever seen and is worthy of its placement on the IMDB list. Period.

'

These points are fairly subjective. The only time the film only made me laugh twice. And one of those was when the son was captured by the alien. I seriously wanted every character in the film except the little girl to die.

And I don't see the fact that everything linked as being a good thing. It's incredibly unrealistic.

[MOBIUS]

Originally posted by reismark
Three simple and concise reasons why Signs rules:

-- If this movie doesn't get nominated for its sound, I'll eat my hat. This is the first movie in YEARS that has genuinely scared the hell out of me - and it had so much to do with the haunting silence, the "shock-alert" sound effects, and the Hitchcockian soundtrack.

One. Fair point. Though 'M' only rules because he copies Hitchcock, as you yourself say...

-- Have you ever been to a movie where you've been both scared out of your mind and delirious with laughter? That's exactly the trick this film manages to pull, and a lot of it has to do with the work of Joaquin Phoenix and the kids. You mock that picture of the three of them sitting on the bed with the tinfoil hats - in the context of the film, that sight is not only unspeakably hilarious but also very moving. You *sympathize* with these characters. Anyone have real sympathy for the people stalked by Chucky or the T-1000? I didn't think so.

Two. Yes, the film was scary (until my snorts of derision!), and it was very funny in many parts though most of that appears to be at the expense of small town America as a whole (The entire world already thinks that the average American is braindead without having to continue to provide continuing cinematic examples), but then when you realise what the object of the fear is - there is no more fear whatsoever! In fact you're left feeling slightly stupid that you were scared at all in the 1st place!

-- The reason I love Shyamalan's work: Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that we find out is important in the end. Too many films these days throw out stuff that does nothing to enhance our image of a character. But everything ties in together: Merrill being a failure at baseball. Bo's dislike of "contaminated" water. Morgan's asthma. Colleen's final words. They ALL mean something in the end. Too often, things like this are just left floating in the breeze.

As RedJon says, this use of 'signs' like this as though everything that happens is meant to be, exposes the plot as a totally unrealistic and linear contrivance!

Ooh, ooh, everything was meant to be! So everything is preordained... It's a f*cking 'Godflick', that's the only 'faith' Mel regains - that's why Mel's wearing a dog collar again at the end of the movie, he's on God's leash again after God sic'ed the most woefully pathetic aliens in the entire universe to make him see the light and bring him back into the fold...

I waited a year for this, and I was not disappointed. It's one of the most immensly satisfying films I've ever seen and is worthy of its placement on the IMDB list. Period.

Oh dear, well we'll just have to agree to differ...

[MrWhereItsAt]

Well I saw it in a group where I was the only one who didn't know the Director's name. I hated the first hour, and had it thoroughly pegged about the time I heard someone use the word "Negro". The rest of the movie took me by the most pleasant moviegoing surprise I have ever had. My attitude reversed completely, and it all made sense afterwards when my laughing film student friends told me what else the Director had done (Unbreakable and Sixth Sense). Not even the faith aspect annoyed me any more. I would give it a 9 due to the amazing change from loathsome to giving me weird tingling feelings in my toes.

Originally posted by MOBIUS
Also it transpires that approximately 70% of the planet's surface and about 90% of the people they're trying to 'harvest' are fatal to these Aliens - what's more they don't even bother to protect themselves from such and obvious weakness by walking around in their birthday suits!

Very like War of the Worlds - I have only seen the 50s movie (wasn't that great?), but the fearsome aliens kill everything, keep landing more invaders and stand up to atomic weaponry. Just as it looks like nothing can stop them, they start dying from contact with Earth's air. In the movies it is because of the microbes that infest the entire planet, including our bodies. I believe the book and another movie version had the aliens allergic to oxygen - certainly in the same vein as being killed by water...?

Comparing anything to War of the Worlds is a hell of an endorsement in my book.

[ThePantaloonDog]

I think the movie was great for an hour....

until the horrible, horrible ending.

OK the alien getting trapped in the pantry was believable since there are stupid people and so there must stupid aliens, no biggie. Then we with sightings and aliens trying to get into the house which was pretty creepy. I was beginning to think "Oh boy! This is going to be completely different from "War of the Worlds" the aliens aren't going to be killed by something stupid." But no I was wrong it was just another "I've found/rediscovered God! Hooray!"

Meh.

Though it was much better than MIB2, the movie I fell asleep after only 30 minutes.

And I don't think I've ever met a farmer from Buck County (where the movie takes place) just rich WASP's.

[red_jon]

Maybe it would be worth buying the DVD in the hope that they made an alternate ending where Mel, the idiot brother and the snot-nosed son all die horribly

[Faeelin]

The aliens can jump 9 feet and shoot poison gas out of their hands but can't batter down a door.

Look, I'm not knocking it. Until the end, I loved the movie.

But the ending was such a cheap cop out. You knew it was going to be the water. You hoped it wouldn't be, but it was. Then there was the asthmatic's poison gas; if the lung's were close, the gas would still be in his upper throat. So when he does inhale, rasping for breath.....

I'm sorry. But when i see a movie, I don't expect to see aliens which are killed by firing a super soaker at them. Why the hell were they invading earth if they fled in terror at the sight of a rain cloud?

[Lung]

Apparently, in a scene cut from the movie because it would give away the ending at the very beginning of the movie, the aliens invaded England and sufferred horrendous casualties

It's true, i swear!

[CyberGnu]

Jon, if you find that version, let me know


Hmm, wonder if tehre would be a market just for 'better movie endings'. Like a star wars episode 1 where Jar Jar is tortured to death.