User:LancedSoul/sandbox/Signs

"Signs was the film that sparked the desire that led to the purchase of a camera, many short films, and a love of movies that hasn't left me to this day."

- Chris Stuckmann

Signs is a 2002 American science fiction horror film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by Shyamalan, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Sam Mercer. A joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by Blinding Edge Pictures and The Kennedy/Marshall Company. It was commercially distributed by Touchstone Pictures theatrically, and by Touchstone Home Entertainment in home media format. Its story focuses on a former Episcopal priest named Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson, who discovers a series of crop circles in his cornfield. Hess slowly discovers that the phenomenon is a result of extraterrestrial life. It also stars Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin. Signs explores the themes of faith, kinship, and extraterrestrials. It premiere in theatres nationwide on August 2, 2002

Plot
Everything that farmer Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) assumed about the world is changed when he discovers a message - an intricate pattern of circles and lines - carved into his crops. As he investigates the unfolding mystery, what he finds will forever alter the lives of his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) and children (Rory Culkin), (Abigail Breslin). A unique story that explores the mysterious real-life phenomena of crop signs and the effects they have on one man and his family.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Graham is a pretty decent protagonist.
 * 2) Merrill, Morgan, and Bo are all good support.
 * 3) Some decent side characters like Caroline and Ray.
 * 4) Some well crafted set pieces.
 * 5) A pretty creepy atmosphere.
 * 6) A good amount of suspense.
 * 7) A few pretty scary moments.
 * 8) James Newton Howard delivers a pretty neat score.
 * 9) Some mostly decent special effects.
 * 10) The performances are well acted.
 * 11) Some decent chemistry between the characters.
 * 12) The story is pretty decently written.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The aliens at first seem terrifying, but then when it's revealed that their weakness is water, it makes them into pretty weak villains. And why would they invade a planet that's made up of mostly water? And speaking of the aliens, the CG on them doesn't look that good.

Reception
Signs has received positive reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 74% gave positive appraisals based on 236 reviews, with an average rating of 6.79/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With Signs, Shyamalan proves once again an expert at building suspense and giving audiences the chills.". At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film scored a 59 based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Chris Stuckmann earned this film an A+ rating, explaining why sparked the desire that led to the purchase of a camera. It was also Chris Stuckmann's third favourite movie.