Signs was forgetable...

[SineSwiper]

<div style='font: 11pt "EngraversGothic BT", "Copperplate Gothic Light"; text-align: left; '>I'm starting to tire of these directors that use the same pattern over and over again. Sixth Sense was great; Unbreakable was pretty damn good. By this movie, the pattern starts to get old. The whole collective ending shit. Like we're going to say, "oooo ahhh ohhh" because M. Night knows how to start from the ending and write the movie backwards. He makes a great movie like Sixth Sense, so he thinks he can capitalize on the same idea over and over again. Well, frankly, the ending really disappointed me.

On that same note, I hope Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) changes his style for his next movie, too. Both were really good movies, and acid would be the last thing I would touch before seeing RfaD, but he maintains that same depressing yet unrealistic style, as well as that same camera trick that he still uses. It seems like these kind of directors get famous and then rely on the same tricks to get them a paycheck. At least Kevin Smith knows how to change his style a bit, despite his "underground" status.</div>

[Nev]

<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>odd...i just saw signs too...JEDI MIND SHIT</div>

[Gentz]

<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>Though it's not so much that I've lost interest in M. Night's style, but more that it seems like he's running out of ways to use it. Signs was cool, but didn't manage to pull off that "working up to a final revelation" style half as well as Unbreakable or Sixth Sense. The whole "dying wife flashback" thing was boring, contrived and often worked <i>against</i> the tension of the movie (during the climax especially). Actually, the entire "miraculous synchronicity" theme itself felt contrived this time and only really worked to blur the focus of the film by drawing attention away from the alien invasion (and if you're going to put an alien invasion into your film the worst thing you can do is make it feel like a contingency).

Also, I think if water disintegrated me into a bloody mass of tissue then a planet that is 70% ocean would probably be last on my invasion list. Besides, if they're so damn stealthy and chameleon-like then why did they need to do a full-scale invasion? Why not just snatch townsfolk from their beds at night?</div>

[Ganath]

<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>Huh, I rather liked the formula used for Signs. Then again, I usually don't stay on top of movies too much so I guess it hadn't worn out on me yet.</div>

[G-man Joe]

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>Aren't we in a drought? Not sure wether or not that was mentioned in the movie. Also, all known alien hot spots in the movie were far away from the oceans.

I liked how this movie paid homage to Night of the Living Dead, Close Encounters and a little bit or Poltergeist. i also liked how the tension was on what you didn't see. BTW, the little kid mentioned the reason why they aliens didn't have a full scale invasion. THey didn't want humans to use nukes.</div>

[Gentz]

<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>If they didn't want to do a fullscale invasion, then the should have been more stealthy instead of flying their ships around over big cities.

And I noticed and enjoyed the little homages too. I'd like to see Shyamalan make an actual horror movie at some point, because he definitely knows how to do it.</div>

[ManaMan]

<div style='font: 12pt "Courier New"; text-align: left; '>Actually Signs was great, don't listen to Sine... oh and BTW, how's this for a formula? War of the Worlds + Night of the Living Dead = Signs</div>

[G-man Joe]

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>Excellent formula. I'm a fan of building suspense (Alfred Hitchcock style) movies and not run n'gun or hack n'slash movies. (The Others is probably one of the best thriller movies I've seen, Signs comes close)</div>

[Gentz]

<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>It was a good movie, but as far as Shyamalan's other films go this is definitely the worst of the three.</div>

[G-man Joe]

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>I thought Unbreakable was the worst.</div>

[Ishamael]

<div style='font: 14pt "Sans Serif"; text-align: justify; padding: 0% 15% 0% 15%; '>Well said..</div>

[Ishamael]

<div style='font: 14pt "Sans Serif"; text-align: justify; padding: 0% 15% 0% 15%; '>This guy reminds me a lot of Hitchcock. He's not ripping him off because he M. Night definitely has his own style. But like you said, he doesn't need special effects to build tension. Script and camera is all that's needed...like Hitchcock....</div>

[Ishamael]

<div style='font: 14pt "Sans Serif"; text-align: justify; padding: 0% 15% 0% 15%; '>

Though it's not so much that I've lost interest in M. Night's style, but more that it seems like he's running out of ways to use it. Signs was cool, but didn't manage to pull off that "working up to a final revelation" style half as well as Unbreakable or Sixth Sense. The whole "dying wife flashback" thing was boring, contrived and often worked <i>against</i> the tension of the movie (during the climax especially). Actually, the entire "miraculous synchronicity" theme itself felt contrived this time and only really worked to blur the focus of the film by drawing attention away from the alien invasion (and if you're going to put an alien invasion into your film the worst thing you can do is make it feel like a contingency).

Actually this was a pretty central theme to the film. I think you were way too caught up in the alien stuff and missed the true point of the film. In a way, the alien stuff was just background.

The central theme of the film was his loss of faith and his family's interactions and how a (huge) outside event changes them. I'm not sure what you mean by "micraculous synchornicity".

Also, I think if water disintegrated me into a bloody mass of tissue then a planet that is 70% ocean would probably be last on my invasion list. Besides, if they're so damn stealthy and chameleon-like then why did they need to do a full-scale invasion? Why not just snatch townsfolk from their beds at night?

I could give a bunch of reasons, but since the alien invasion is beside the point, why bother.</div>

[Lee+S.]

<div style='font: ; text-align: left; '>The Others is a worthless shit-fest. At no point did I feel either thrilled or frightened. I was either bored or so annoyed at Nicole Kidman's children that I wanted to travel back in time to the days that they were conceived so I could punch their mom's in the stomach.</div>

[Nev]

<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>If you have to say "Excellent formula" then I think the movie stands a good chance on being forgettable as it is...and Signs was definitely a little bit of "Yay! God saves the day in a really pat way."</div>

[Nev]

<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>...a little bit of "Yay! God saves the day in a really pat way."</div>

[Ishamael]

<div style='font: 14pt "Sans Serif"; text-align: justify; padding: 0% 15% 0% 15%; '>Damn brain dead gen-yers with your little snappy one liners. That movie was great! It was my favorite Nicole Kidman movie! Ok, so that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but I meant it in a good way.</div>

[Eric]

<div style='font: 11pt ; text-align: left; '>When I discovered their weakness was water, I found the entire movie trash. Why would Aliens invade a planet that is covered in 70% Water? What if it rains? Stupid!!!!</div>

[Torgo]

<div style='font: 9pt Arial; text-align: left; '>I found the kids to be more disturbing than annoying, which worked in the movie's favor.</div>

[G-man Joe]

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>Well....what'd you expect from the MTV generation? These are the same ones that think rock bands "borrow" from rap artists. =8^)</div>

[Gentz]

<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>I liked Unbreakable myself, but personal opinions aside, I think that it was just a more coherent and well-put-together story than Signs.</div>

[ManaMan]

<div style='font: 12pt "Courier New"; text-align: left; '>I think you had to be intelligent to enjoy The Others.</div>

[Gentz]

<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>Stupid cookies. That was my apology there, not Eric's.</div>

[Gentz]

<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>Stupid cookies. That was my apology there, not Eric's.</div>

[Gentz]

<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>And besides being contrived and horribly melodramatic, the final flashback lasts about 3 minutes and pops up right in the middle of the movie's climax. If tension were a person, this would be the equivalent of repeatedly stabbing him in the eye with a fork.

By "miraculous synchronicity" I was speaking of how things came together, seemingly by chance, in order to save the characters. This was, of course, a large part of the movie, but my problem with it was that instead of strengthening the film it simply undermined the general focus of the story. It drew significance away from the alien invasion to the point where I almost want to ask "why were the aliens even in the movie?" Surely those miracles could have taken place surrounding more mundane circumstances. The alien invasion is a pretty big card to play, so if you do play it you'd better have a damned solid reason.</div>

[G-man Joe]

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>It could have been zombies, aliens, nazis or Jehova's Witness.....they were not the focus of the movie.</div>

[Lee+S.]

<div style='font: ; text-align: left; '>Hey, come on, G-Man. It's like we're living in a house together and we've reached that point where we stop being polite, and start being <b><i>real!</b></i> And I <i>really</i> thought The Others sucked ass.

--Lee S.</div>

[Lee+S.]

<div style='font: ; text-align: left; '>Right, because of how deep it was. The layers of complexity slowly ebbing away to reveal a plan that is explained slowly so that we can understand the pre-planned, methodical form in which The Others sucks. No, I think I caught that.</div>

[G-man Joe]

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>I'll ALWAYS be nice to you. Even if you abuse me. =8^)</div>

[Zeus]

<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>I agree with your subject (oddly), but man, I disagree with the message inside. Others was surprisingly good</div>

[Lee+S.]

<div style='font: ; text-align: left; '>I guess this is just going to be one of those awkward moments between us all. Usually I'm down with the generally accepted good movies (or GAGM, if you will) on the Shrine, but I just can't make it happen with The Others.</div>

[Gentz]

<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>Think about watching Gone With the Wind, but this time all the characters have sprouted insect legs from their backs for some reason. Same movie, same dialogue, just with huge, hairy black legs. I'm sure you'd leave the theatre thinking "hey, that was a decent movie...but why the FUCK did all the characters have fucking insect legs sticking out of their backs?" They've taken something fantastic and, by making it a contingency, have made it mundane - which defeats the purpose of adding a fantastic element to the story in the first place.

Of course, this may be a bad example since the addition of insect legs would probably <i>improve</i> a viewing of Gone With the Wind...but you get my drift :)</div>

[Torgo]

<div style='font: 9pt Arial; text-align: left; '>My guess is thathey went with the crop circles so they could implement the 'signs' on a global scale, though I don't really think that was necessary.</div>

[G-man Joe]

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>Then Signs would be one boring ass movie without those aliens.</div>

[Nev]

<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>GAG-M's, huh? I'll pass.</div>

[G-man Joe]

<div style='font: 11pt "Fine Hand"; text-align: left; '>Gag'em....sounds kinky.</div>