Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I don’t want to read anything else. I don’t want to know anything else. But some of you are still sending these in and still interested in reading them, so here’s a whole mess of review for M. Night’s new film. Be warned... I haven’t read these, so I don’t know if there are spoilers or not...
hello moriarty. ive been a strong fan of your work for quite some time now and decided to toss in a review of the suspense thriller "signs" into you. thanks for your time.
m. night's flicks have always interest me. while unbreakable was unbearable in senses, the sixth sense was something we've never seen before. this movie as others, are the movies that will refresh audiences this summer.
starring mel gibson and joaquin phoenix, this suspense thriller bounds the viewer in the home of a ex-preacher family during alien suspension. starting out with a quick bang, signs never stops the suspense. at few points in the movie, i felt i was there as part of their family. within the first hour or so, your questions to "is this a hoax" or "is this a alien" movie are answered, but answered well. most flicks can mess it up, but signs keeps it straight.
scared. that's exactly the position i was at. i haven't felt like this since seeing fire in the sky when i was a kid. this is a great movie if you want good scares. the directing, lighting, camera angles, everything. just set right for the right reasons. look for them in the movie, you'll notice them.
the humor was great too, while phoenix relieves most of it, the kids toss some in too. it was very well put together and not forceful at all. the performances were top notch except mel gibson. this role sounded more for bruce willis than him. he did a good job but it just felt... not right for him. the person who stands out the most is phoenix, his performance amazed me. his best work by far.
as for the film itself. it moves nicely but slowly becomes tedious and boring in areas near the closing. hopefully some scenes will be cut before its final release but this was the only major flaw i saw in the film. other than that, wait to have a great ride to piss your pants heaven. that's my two cents.
Shane
Here’s another one...
Hello Harry, Moriarity, Father Geek et. al. Call me the Six Strings That Drew Blood.
‘Signs’ is not a film that I was particularly eager to see. I have a deep aversion to Mel Gibson, who I don’t believe has been in an entertaining movie since the first ‘Lethal Weapon’. ‘The Patriot’ rivals ‘Pearl Harbor’ and ‘Revolution’ as the worst Hollywood film ever made about an important historical subject, and ‘Braveheart’ is bar-none the worst ‘Best Picture’ winner I’ve seen. As for M Night Shyamalan, I quite liked ‘The Sixth Sense’ and I appreciated aspects of ‘Unbreakable’. He has a lot of talent that I don’t think has really been delivered upon yet. When I found a decent quality screener of ‘Signs’ on Kazaa, I decided it would be a lot of fun to get hepped on beer and reef and send in an advance review to Ain’t it Cool.
Sadly, there’s nothing fun at all about ‘Signs’, easily Shyamalan’s weakest effort to date. I’d warn of spoilers, but I don’t know what to spoil. Crop circles precede an alien invasion. That’s about it. The only thing I’ll say about the ending is that it’s the worst part of a lousy movie.
Though Shyamalan has been compared to Hitchcock, Kubrick and Spielberg, among others, there is one distinguishing quality in his work - the near stuporous depression which envelops all his characters. Gibson plays Graham Hess, a depressed widower (natch!), a former reverend who’s lost his faith after his wife was killed in a car accident. With help from his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), a morose failed baseball player, he’s raising his sullen children Morgan (Rory Culkin) and Bo (Abigail Breslin). When circles appear in his cornfields, Graham assumes it’s the work of local pranksters. Phoenix even manages to sound like a seasoned talkback troll, attributing the crop circles to ‘nerds who can’t get girlfriends’. Then the family dog suddenly dies, weird figures scurry around in the dark, crop circles appear globally, and we learn too late that we’re not alone. And how does the Hess family respond? Do they become terrified? Excited? Awed? No, they simply sink deeper into their own navels. Apparently the family members muster all their strengths simply to stay awake. Culkin sits in his room reading books about UFO’s, and eventually he and his sister and Phoenix put on tinfoil hats to prevent the aliens from reading their minds. Speaking of Phoenix, his family will no doubt be thrilled with his choice of final meal: Chicken Teriyaki!
The most surprising thing about ‘Signs’ is its sloppy, rambling narrative. At under 100 minutes the movie is overlong. ‘Signs’ is an utterly pointless dirge.
And the last and the longest of today’s reviews:
Hello, Moriarty
I see that you have been publishing reviews of SIGNS lately, and thought I would send in my views on this film.
Now, if you have managed to avoid spoilers so far... skip my half assed attempt at a review. I have a few spoilers that will ruin it for you. Don't Say I Didn't Warn You
Mel Gibson plays Graham Hess, a preacher, who is battling personal demons regarding religion and his faith. His brother Merrill, played by Joaquin Phoenix, has moved in with him to help him take care of his two young children after the tragic death of his wife. One morning, after awaking from what I assume is a dream of his wife, Graham hears screaming coming from the crop field. There, they find what appears to be a Crop Circle. AT first, they suspect some of the local idiots have played a hand in it. But, after some very strange things begin to happen at the household, they start to question that which they believe is to be true.
Mel Gibson plays the character of Graham Hess perfectly. The scenes of suspense are played by him very good. The scenes where he has flashbacks of his wife, all top notch. The only problem I had with his character were the scenes where he asks not to be called Father. They just seemed forced to me. Sure, it may be taken as an insult to him, but there was just something about these scenes (very few) that felt wrong.
Joaquin Phoenix plays the role of Graham's younger brother Merrill quite well. Merrill, it appears, was a wash-out on the Minor League team, despite the fact that he holds a still unbeaten record in it. Now, he works at a Gas Station, and you get the feeling that there is something more to him. A greater role to play, and you would be right.
Rory Culkin plays Morgan Hess, Graham's oldest son. He is an Asthmatic, and apparently very deadly with Farmer's Tools. Now, the scenes with the kids are good. Like all M. Night's films, they play a bigger part than most kids do in films. No, they are not the distracting little brats from Jurassic Park. These kids are real. Rory has a lasting appeal in this film, as does Abigail Breslin.
Abigail Breslin plays Bo Hess, the charming little daughter of Graham Hess. I am not too sure how old she is in real life, but she holds her own next to the likes of Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. Like I said, these children are not at all like those in some of the films that have been released. M. Night seems to have a way with kids, given his previous work with Haley Joel Osment, this shouldn't be much of a surprise.
And, M. Night himself. He has only one major scene through the whole film. And, as much as I thought it would be distracting to see him, it wasn't. Look for his scene with Gibson, in the truck. Watch for him when he turns to Gibson and say's "They don't like water." The look in his eye, the tone of his voice... he believe what he is saying. This time, he is more than just "the director who makes a cameo". No, he has finally played a role in his films that warrants it own special mention in a review. A damn fine supporting role on his part.
M. Night's direction in the film was his usual style. No long, reflective shots into picture frames or awards, this time though. Instead, he has taken his, what I consider trademarked, reflection shot and made it suspenseful. The knife under the door frame, the shot of the television screen during the end sequence. Wow. He mastered this shot of his, finally.
The other trademark that I have come to associate with him, the twist ending, is not as big as I thought. It is sort of there, with the flashback sequence and the sudden realization of the truth and all that... but, it isn't as big a surprise as I would have liked. But, that doesn't mean I was let down by it. Not at all. I liked the direction he went in with this, even if it is a little weird.
The cinematography in the film is pretty decent. I liked the play with the flashlights in a few scenes. The darkness of the suspense scenes played out well. The golden glow of the daylight sequences gave off a kind of "there’s no place like home" feeling. Tak Fujimoto did a damn fine job here.
The music is okay. Suspense is the key to this film, and the music added to it. Sure, I heave read some people complain about the opening musical sequence, but I didn't find it all that annoying. That tune from the trailer is here, and I am glad it is. But, the music isn’t in it enough in my opinion. There were a few scenes that could have been more suspenseful than they really were if they had just put a suspense score into it. I am not too sure what they were trying to accomplish here, but I wasn't 100% satisfied with the end result as far as music was concerned.
The sound of the film is another story though. M. Night and crew did their homework on monster movies. This has some good sequences that play almost solely on you listening for what’s around the corner. The knocking on the door, the sound of crops being stepped on, all of this builds and builds... until M. Night throws what he ahs at you. Really great work with the sound department on this one.
Well, as far as I am concerned, they did a good film here. Like I said, Joaquin Phoenix has more of a role to play than one would suspect. In fact, he is in the best scene of the film... all him. The scene i am talking about is the news broadcast of the little boys Birthday party. WOW! You've seen the pictures of Bigfoot all over the place right? You know, the one shot up in Washington that is considered the best evidence we have of his existence... well, M. Night must be a fan of that, because he nailed the coolness of that footage in one of his scenes. When that alien walks by the camera, you will lose your breath. It plays perfectly...
The scenes with the UFO's over major cities seemed kind of like Deja Vu to me, but I was able to forgive it. Why? Because Mel Gibson didn't grab an ax and go on a killing spree like I though he would. In fact, there is absolutely no trace of his previous action hero roles in this film. Just the opposite. But, the UFO's that can appear and disappear whenever they want were kind of cool. I got the feeling that, in the world this movie is in, that is exactly why no one has ever gotten concrete photographic evidence of their existence. It was very cool.
There are a few scenes with a Baby Monitor that gave me chills when I watched it. I know, people will be bitching about this the same way they bitched about the Apple Computer that hacked an alien race... but, the sound that comes over the waves is chilling. Reminded me of a few key scenes from the Exorcist that made me smile. Those weird noises, the distant voices... don't hate this aspect of the film - enjoy it.
All in all, I enjoyed this film and look forward to seeing it again with my cousin who is the biggest geek on the planet for these sort of films. Hopefully, he will enjoy it as much as I have.
I hope you publish this, Moriarty... And, if you do you can call me:
Darth Pixel
(Star Wars Forever, MAN!)
Thanks, Darth, and everyone else who sent in their thoughts. I’m sure they were lovely reviews, and after I see the film, I’ll be back to check them out.
"Moriarty" out.
