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The 7 - Random - Signs
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BigDaddyLoco
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#1 Posted on 6.8.02 2103.12
Reposted on: 6.8.09 2106.10
This movie is WAY better than I thought it would be. It isn't even really about what I thought it would be. I highly recommend this movie to one and all. Try to go in with as little Spoilers as possible, you'll thank yourself later. Worth the full (and now inflated) cost of admission.
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timdrake
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#2 Posted on 6.8.02 2131.29
Reposted on: 6.8.09 2135.40
I agree... I HATED Unbreakable so I had almost no expectations for this movie and walked away loving it.All around great cast and a great story (something Unbreakable was lacking).
evilwaldo
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#3 Posted on 6.8.02 2148.12
Reposted on: 6.8.09 2153.21
Signs is by far the best movie I have seen this year. Fantastic acting job by Mel Gibson and Jaoquin Phoenix. It will be hard to deny this film at least some nominations come Oscar time.

edit:corrected the name if you care

(edited by evilwaldo on 7.8.02 1124)
Ryan1420
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#4 Posted on 6.8.02 2230.22
Reposted on: 6.8.09 2235.20
Didn't River Phoenix die outside the Viper Room of a drug overdose in the early 90's ?
ManiacalClown
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#5 Posted on 6.8.02 2233.19
Reposted on: 6.8.09 2246.55
Yeah he did. That was Joaquin Phoenix in the movie.

Unbreakable ruled, by the way. :)
Jubuki
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#6 Posted on 6.8.02 2335.42
Reposted on: 6.8.09 2343.04
Unbreakable would've been better had they dispensed with the sappy "tears his girlfriend out of the car" flashback scene that shot down a lot of the tension one felt regarding the possibility of his superhuman abilities. Aside from that, I didn't love it enough to buy the DVD, but it wasn't as terrible as some had made it out to be.

And I found Road to Perdition somewhat disappointing - good performances from Hanks, Newman, & Craig, but all the other characters were as one-dimensional as they could be, and most of the action was predictable. All the touting of "best crime drama since 'The Godfather'" seemed to have forgotten about a little thing called Chinatown. Maybe Signs will at least threaten Spiderman for Most Fun Had in a Theater This Year Short of Receiving Fellatio.

(edited by Jubuki on 7.8.02 0536)
Zeruel
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#7 Posted on 7.8.02 0048.52
Reposted on: 7.8.09 0049.32

    Originally posted by ManiacalClown
    Yeah he did. That was Joaquin Phoenix in the movie.

    Unbreakable ruled, by the way. :)



after like the 2nd time sam jackson said "They call me the glass man" everything fell into place and i had the ending like 1/4th of the way into the movie...

but how could one follow up to the sixth sense...that movie blew me away...
BigDaddyLoco
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#8 Posted on 7.8.02 0911.23
Reposted on: 7.8.09 0912.16
I had the Sixth Sense all figured out after the first five minutes. I was VERY upset with that fact. I finished the movie anyway and it was good. I enjoyed Unbreakable you shouldn't compare it to the Sixth Sense though. Signs is by far the best of the three.
Zeruel
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#9 Posted on 7.8.02 0914.32
Reposted on: 7.8.09 0922.30

    Originally posted by BigDaddyLoco
    I had the Sixth Sense all figured out after the first five minutes. I was VERY upset with that fact. I finished the movie anyway and it was good. I enjoyed Unbreakable you shouldn't compare it to the Sixth Sense though. Signs is by far the best of the three.


i'm with you, but the other way around...
Slestak
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#10 Posted on 7.8.02 1140.09
Reposted on: 7.8.09 1149.20
I thought the movie was great, probably the best I've seen this year. I wasn't too crazy about the ending, but it's an extremely well-crafted film. I will be surprised if Shyamalan doesn't received Oscar nods for directing and screenplay.
DMC
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#11 Posted on 7.8.02 1151.48
Reposted on: 7.8.09 1159.03
Some critics didn't like Signs because they did not appreciate the "message" the film sends about family and faith. I guess they thought it too homely and were expecting something more like a Independence Day shoot-em-up or something. I think that comes from a lack of appreciation of the spiritual overtones you often see in UFOs, and the close relationship between UFOs and ultimate meaning in the universe, God, etc. Of course most people in America, critics included, just think of "little green men" invading from space and nothing else, which is a shame, because once you get into the literature you see these more spiritual topics clearly, and from a variety of perspectives. Signs did an excellent job with them.

So did the last episode of X-Files too, if you recall. Mulder was on the bed with Scully staring at the cross on her neck. They mentioned something about a higher power being the only thing that can protect them. (It was actually rather overtly *Christian* in its message; even Christianity Today liked it.) So things may be changing in America in the message that people get about UFOs.

DMC

Big Bad
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#12 Posted on 9.8.02 0151.48
Reposted on: 9.8.09 0152.03
Great movie, possibly the best I've seen so far this year-- it's between this and Minority Report). The first movie I've ever been to that actually had people screaming (I shit you not) in the audience. I think Shyamalan is trying a little bit too hard to be the next Hitchcock in terms of being a "name" director, but damned if he can't back it up with one great movie after another. I was worried that the ending would be something predictable, like the dead wife was the one behind the crop circles, trying to communicate with the husband.

SPOILERS ARE TEN LINES BELOW...........

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Okay, let me get this straight; the aliens are weakened/killed by water, and so they decide to invade a planet that is three-quarters covered in it? Smart move. And why did the alien just stand there and take it when Joaquim Phoenix was going McGwire on its ass with the ball bat? Is another of their weaknesses maple wood? Perhaps the real message of the movie is that college and little league ball should switch to wood bats; M. Night like his traditional baseball.



(edited by Big Bad on 9.8.02 0252)
ManiacalClown
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#13 Posted on 9.8.02 0251.57
Reposted on: 9.8.09 0259.08
I think some critics didn't like Signs because it promotes CALVINISM. :)
Dr Unlikely
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#14 Posted on 9.8.02 0910.40
Reposted on: 9.8.09 0925.21
Just saw it last night. I guess the guy on the radio that Merril has in the basement takes care of explaining why they came to planet that's so covered in water if it harms them - they really were harvesting people, and Earth must be the only planet they could get to that had people on it. And that's why they made those signs, as Ray speculates before he leaves, they really were making sure they didn't land near any major water deposits.

As for the ballbat beatin', well, he did get the first hit with that full contact shot to the alien's back, and it was already wounded from the missing fingers on one hand. The poison gas thing seemed to be their main method of attack.

I really liked the movie. The way Shyamalan let's the audience know that they're only getting to see what he wants them to see was neat - lots of shots through door and window frames that limited perspective, and the whole cellar sequence where the action kept moving out of the flashlight areas. It fit thematically with the movie and it's fun when the director intentionally plays with the audience like that.

I liked the film references, too - I picked up on War of the Worlds, Night of the Living Dead and Close Encounters in there. There were probably more. Beyond that, there was some really good performances. It's been a long time since Mel Gibson has gotten into a part like that, Joaquin Phoenix was excellent, I thought. Of course the kids were good, that seems to be Shyamalan's specialty. And I was impressed how the actress playing the sheriff managed to get across how much the town was hurt by Graham leaving the Church without many scenes to do it in.

I'd have to see it again before I decide where it fits in terms of the Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. I liked both, and really liked Unbreakable. It wasn't supposed to be a puzzle film like the Sixth Sense, since the characters come right out and give you information about the ending. And it wasn't even about Dunne's powers, which I why I think the flashback scene of David ripping off the car door (mentioned above) was necessary - the movie was about the consequences of not doing what you're supposed to do in life, how it can take its toll on you and break you down.

David knew what he could all along and was denying it to himself, and that's what brought about the breakdown his life was falling into, as he was waking up every day knowing he wasn't living the life the way he could. And then there was the added complication in that scene in the train station (my favorite scene in the movie), where once he started to do what he was meant to do, he found out how hard even that could be, learning of all these crimes about which he couldn't do anything, illustrating how the freedom of doing what you're supposed to is balanced by the burden of responsibility.
BigDaddyLoco
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#15 Posted on 10.8.02 0015.31
Reposted on: 10.8.09 0029.01

    The first movie I've ever been to that actually had people screaming (I shit you not) in the audience


The same here. My own arm was bruised from my g/f's grip at some points.


    I really liked the movie. The way Shyamalan let's the audience know that they're only getting to see what he wants them to see was neat - lots of shots through door and window frames that limited perspective, and the whole cellar sequence where the action kept moving out of the flashlight areas.


The Birthday party in Mexico may have been the best scene in the whole movie. That scene was excellent in building the suspense, plus the shock value was there in full force. If you want to break down his movies scene by scene, this one is by far his best.
J. Kyle
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Y!:
#16 Posted on 10.8.02 0655.39
Reposted on: 10.8.09 0659.01
Just a thought, but maybe the aliens sent down to the surface were just the extraterrestrial equivalent of a golden retriver? Genetically engineered footsoldiers and the like?

A lot of people have bitched about the end missing a big surprise, but a good conclusion (in my opinion) needs only to bring a sense of closure to the story. I think Signs had that.

As for it being religious in tone, I'm about the least religious person I know and I still dug it from start to finish.

I got a longer review at the Geekdom if yer interested.
DMC
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#17 Posted on 10.8.02 1121.32
Reposted on: 10.8.09 1121.32
"The Birthday party in Mexico may have been the best scene in the whole movie. That scene was excellent in building the suspense, plus the shock value was there in full force. If you want to break down his movies scene by scene, this one is by far his best."

Even though that's the best part of the movie as far as "realism" goes, I still think it could have been done better. To me, the alien looks a little too human in that one passing shot--I think they used a person in a suit, and it ends up looking a little like the Green Goblin. They should have used a CGI and made it look more alien with longer, skinnier limbs or something. But it was still pretty freaky. The way Joaquin Phoenix stood up all night and was freaking out at the news reports was very realistic. The emergency broadcast signal when it was all ready to happen was also pretty chilling.

Damn now I have to see it again.

DMC
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Y!:
#18 Posted on 13.8.02 0034.39
Reposted on: 13.8.09 0059.01
I thought they did an excellent job of making the movie scary in a "Blair Witch" kind of way, making your scared of what was unseen rather than by putting it in your face. Of course, it was the second-scariest thing I saw Saturday since I went home and watched Dilfer get his knee messed up.

I also thought the birthday party scene was excellent, but mostly in its timing. It seemed to have the shot out the window forever with nothing, just so you could relax and think "ah, it'll be nothing," then BOO! Very cool.

Since we're weighing in on them, I loved "Th Sixth Sense" and thought "Unbreakable" was good but in more of an interesting sort of way. I think "Signs" is right up there with "The Sixth Sense."
evilwaldo
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#19 Posted on 13.8.02 0854.21
Reposted on: 13.8.09 0854.34
The birthday party scene was great. I wanted to move the kids aside in the picture to get a better view.

But my favorite was his first cameo scene where they asked 'Is that him?' It was a wink to how people look at him now wondering if the person that walked by or got into his car is the director of The Sixth Sense. Then we find out that they acted like that for another reason.

I also got the War of the Worlds references which were beautiful. Did anyone else get a Hitchcock feel to this picture?
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