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Re: Signs (was: Full Frontal)
Bruce Lachey <b_lachey at hotmail_com> wrote:
> Full Frontal is a rotten rotten movie. I was looking
> forward to it too much (first mistake). Everything else
> Soderbergh has done, I've more or less enjoyed.
>
I have to give the exact same comment about the Night
Shyamalan fiasco "Signs". It is a disaster compared to the
intricate plots and layered twists on modern mythology that
both "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" delivered spot on.
Personally, I blame the script. But when the writer is also
the director is also the producer, you kind of have to say
the film was flawed from the concept stage.
Gibson and Phoenix perform well-enough given the material
they have to work with. And the child actors perform
well-enough, I suppose. Though, Rory Culkin comes across
more like his brother McCauley (although in the endearing
Uncle Buck kind of way and less the annoying Home Alone kind
of way) than Haley Joel Osment. And the little girl is cute
with the water fixation (which turns out to be a major clue
to the ending of the film).
Ultimately, the whole film plays far too much off of
standard horror film cliche (including the horribly
contrived ending, which is straight from about 15 Steven
King novels/adaptations) to compare favorably to Shyamalan's
previous films. Again, there are some easy cinematic
comparisons to Hitchcock in Shyamalan's use of camera work
and dramatic tension. Although, I think the more recent
comparisons to Spielburg come from Shyamalan's relentless
use of children in each of his films, his lingering
sentimentality (which nearly sinks this film in the end),
and the fact that Kathleen Kennedy, who produced all of
Steven S' work, also signed the checks on this venture.
Personally, I think the director Shyamalan drew on the most
in making this film was Ed Wood. Because the plot of the
film makes about as much sense as "Plan 9 from Outer Space".
Only, thank god, we don't have to suffer through Mel Gibson
in drag in this film.
=====
Bradley S. Caviness, Bigwig
Bigwig Enterprises
http://www.bigwigenterprises.com
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur."
(Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.)
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