Pablo returns with a film review and no more crazy conspiracy talk.
What the hell is going on???
Well literally days after my conspiracy rant the pc died on me.
Coincidence? non
So new pc in hand and a slight reluctance to rock the boat (the capatain looks up from his sleep and grunts) Pablo embarks on a nice, safe film review.
SIGNS -----
Signs is the third major film from director M Night Shyamalan. You may remember his first film, some film about dead people, followed by superhero flick unbreakable. Shyamalan tackles more supernatural aspects here with a tale of alien invaders and the loss of faith.
Graham Hess (mel gibson) is a retired reverand who lives on a farmhouse with his two children, Bo and Morgan. Living in the Barn next door is Grahams younger brother Merril (joaquin phoenix) a young man who's life hasn't turned out too well after a promising
baseball career went wrong. Graham has lost his faith in God after his wife was killed by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel one night, pinning her to a tree. One morning Graham wakes up to find a huge set of crop circles in his corn, his dog also is behaving in a crazy fashion, attacking young Bo.
At first graham and his brother believe it is the work of local troublemakers and when Graham spots something on his roof, he and Merril chase it around the house but somehow it gets away. Soon other 'SIGNS' are popping up all over the world, this must be some huge stunt, surely. Graham and his family venture into town to take their minds off the theories that this could be some kind of alien activity but the townspeople seem as obsessed with extra terrestrials as everybody else. When they return home they discover that this is the real thing and Graham must prepare his family, for invasion!!!
Mixing many different styles, Hitchcock, Romero and the Coens among others, this film is a joy that far too many people have written off as rubbish because it hasn't got a huge 'TWIST', the thing is that bad opinions of signs are like ar**holes, everyone has one. Maybe it's the hype created by the masses, Shyamalan refused to have the sixth sense mentioned in the trailers as he didn't want people to go and see it just because of his 'dead people' film. It could be the comedy elements that dominate the film, some people believe that this being a hilarious film is a bad thing but these comedy elements are intentional (the captain laughed so much peanuts came out of his nose, and he hadn't even been eating peanuts) Gibson is most certainly the king of comedy and crying convincingly. I salute you.
The way that the majority of the film takes place in the Hess house is done brilliantly, Merril sits watching the 24 hour news updtaes on the invasion, one sequence that includes some amateur footage of an alien in the backyard is both hilarious and horrifying, Two elements sitting snugly together. The final section when the aliens lay siege to the house is also a brilliantly suspenseful moment. With sounds upstairs and something trying to get in, the presence of the aliens is implied, with the camera moving away from the action and sound effects and lighting used perfectly.
If the ending annoyed some people then it's their own fault for expecting t6he film makers to turn round and say 'SURPRISE' this was never going to be that kind of film, from it's hitchcock style title sequence to the final unveiling of the creatures this is Shyamalans most conventional film. Yes the logic behind faith and things happening for a reason is slightly hackneyed but on repeat viwing it all fits together nicely. hint, the 'Signs' in the fields aren't the only 'Signs' in the film. It's not just about aliens and do they exist, it's about god and destiny and do they exist too.
A real smasher of a film with brilliant performances from all the leads (even Shyamalans cameo is better than in the two previous films) it's something that you shouldn't let people put you off.
So it's available on DVD now, it's a 12, it's just over a hundred minutes long, it comes in a box and you should be able to pick it up for about 12.99 if you shop around.
Go on you know it makes sense.
favourite quotes- "why arent you in the pros, making stacks of cash and getting your toes licked by beautiful women" - officer caroline
"Excluding the possibility that a female Scandinavian Olympian was running around outside our house last night, what else could it have been?" - Merril
See you soon monkeys.
Pablo the restrained
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
saw this recently & loved it but then mel gibson is a sex god! Shelly X
deano76 15.04.2003 10:36
We watched this a while back and really enjoyed it...That scene you mention with the home video footage of the alien was quite freaky, sent tingles down my back ;-)
Tell you what I got the other day, The Mothman prophesies on DVD with an exclusive 45 minute documentory of the real incident...Now that is freaky, big style!
DEANO!
Neolad2020r 12.04.2003 16:27
Long time no fee Pablo me ole' shipmate! But what is this you've turned chicken for the sake of a pc.arghhhhhhhhhh damn it boy I'll thrown mine outta the window if I hear such talk.Conspiracies abound me lad...aye...so morse code i write in...qwerty....asdfg...zxcvcvbb...no i fell asleep on the keys...but I will just as soon as I release this feather stuck between my cheeks and solve the jigsaw puzzle the code is written on...oh life of an adventurer is not all plain sailing Pablo, my matey....sometimes sea sickness is all there be.....man the life toads!!!
Director-writer M Night Shyamalan brings his distinctive, oblique approach to aliens ... more
inSignsafter tackling ghosts (The Sixth Sense) and superheroes (Unbreakable). With Mel Gibson replacing Bruce Willis as the traditional Shyamalan hero--a family man tr...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Director-writer M Night Shyamalan brings his distinctive, oblique approach to aliens ... more
inSignsafter tackling ghosts (The Sixth Sense) and superheroes (Unbreakable). With Mel Gibson replacing Bruce Willis as the traditional Shyamalan hero--a family man tr...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
From M. Night Shyamalan, the writer/director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, comes the ... more
story of the Hess family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who wake up one morning to find a 500-foot crop circle in their backyard. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and hi...
From M. Night Shyamalan the gifted writer/director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable ... more
comes the story of the Hess family in Bucks County Pennsylvania who wake up one morning to find a 500 foot crop circle in their backyard. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) a...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Makes you think...and keep on thinking for ages afterwards, it has Mr Gibson in it, superb directing Disadvantages: A bit scary to be rated 12 - and all that thinking made my brain hurt
Collingwood21 12.10.2002 (12.10.2002)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Signs (DVD)
![Signs [DTS] [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/76771759.jpg "Signs [DTS] [DVD] [2002]")
Apr 10th, 2003
very helpful by (97%):
helpful by (3%):
