![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
"Signs" at long last...
You know who I like? M. Night Shyamalan. Know who else I like? That Joaquin Phoenix. Lucky for me, they are both involved in that awesome, suspenseful film of trickery and green guys: Signs. This film is the 3rd major hollywood release for Shyamalan, who also gave us the new classics the Sixth Sense, and Unbreakable which is truly one of the finest films ever. It is also the first mel gibson movie I've ever seen in a theatre, and the only Mel movie I've seen from beginning to end.
Without my usual fanfare, I will tell you to see this movie. It is a swell ride. The film gets right into the action in the first scene where mysterious crop circles are discovered. I don't find that to be particularly scary, but it gets way scarier and has tons of that long-ass suspense that we've come to expect from Mr Shyamalan. He once again uses children to assure that we are amazed and terified, and that our emotions are screwed with in every possible way. The little Culkin kid (no, the other one) was excellent as the smart kid with the big mouth. But we get full, complete characters here instead of the usual hollywood comic releif. Even the quirky little girl is cute but not "Awwww" cute, just normal. Well, normal considering she has The Shine.
Mel Gibson gives a good performance as a guy who experiences every manner of sad thing, and gets to be crazy conflicted. When he is supposed to look uncomfortable, he does which I bet is a neat trick for mister guy-everyone-loves. And can I just say, Joaquin Phoenix has looked incredibly hot ever since he bulked up to play Commodus in Gladiator.
The cool thing about this movie is that because it is Shyamalan, you expect a crazy twist at the end. Without giving anything away, the twist in theme is so subtle yet so intense that you are left pondering it for hours afterwards. Signs doesn't jump right out and impress you, it just shows you some stuff and waits for you to catch on, therefore it requires an intelligent filmgoer to truly appreciate it. With this in mind, it is surprising that it has made so damn much money. But I'm glad it has.
I'll say it again, see this movie. Then go see One Hour Photo and tell me how it is. It's not playing in Ann Arbor yet.
Without my usual fanfare, I will tell you to see this movie. It is a swell ride. The film gets right into the action in the first scene where mysterious crop circles are discovered. I don't find that to be particularly scary, but it gets way scarier and has tons of that long-ass suspense that we've come to expect from Mr Shyamalan. He once again uses children to assure that we are amazed and terified, and that our emotions are screwed with in every possible way. The little Culkin kid (no, the other one) was excellent as the smart kid with the big mouth. But we get full, complete characters here instead of the usual hollywood comic releif. Even the quirky little girl is cute but not "Awwww" cute, just normal. Well, normal considering she has The Shine.
Mel Gibson gives a good performance as a guy who experiences every manner of sad thing, and gets to be crazy conflicted. When he is supposed to look uncomfortable, he does which I bet is a neat trick for mister guy-everyone-loves. And can I just say, Joaquin Phoenix has looked incredibly hot ever since he bulked up to play Commodus in Gladiator.
The cool thing about this movie is that because it is Shyamalan, you expect a crazy twist at the end. Without giving anything away, the twist in theme is so subtle yet so intense that you are left pondering it for hours afterwards. Signs doesn't jump right out and impress you, it just shows you some stuff and waits for you to catch on, therefore it requires an intelligent filmgoer to truly appreciate it. With this in mind, it is surprising that it has made so damn much money. But I'm glad it has.
I'll say it again, see this movie. Then go see One Hour Photo and tell me how it is. It's not playing in Ann Arbor yet.
Mel ain't too bad
He's good. We'll just take a look at some of the greats he's done:
Road Warrior (first one)
Gallipoli
Attack Force Z (Aussie film, one of his first)
Lethal Weapon (first one is a great, fun, action flick)
Hamlet (He even got good reviews in this one)
Maverick (really funny)
Braveheart (WOW!!)
Conspiracy Theory (Awesome job by Gibson, good story too)
Payback (Mel getting his ass kicked for 90 minutes)
Chicken Run (well, it's chicken run)
And I need to say "Braveheart" a few more times. I missed it in the theater, and wished I hadn't. It's super good. A must see, by anyones standards. The boy can do it. You can too.
Re: Mel ain't too bad
But you must never, EVER again mention to me that Mel Gibson "hamlet". Hamlet is not a forty year old man. Repeat: Hamlet is NOT a 40 year old man!!!!! Far be it for me to disagree with the great Zeff. But no, no Mel in Hamlet...
Love the new pic BTW.
Re: Mel ain't too bad
Re: Mel ain't too bad
Re: Mel ain't too bad
Now you're just being silly.
Re: Mel ain't too bad
Re: Mel ain't too bad
Re: Mel ain't too bad