signs (5k image)Signs (4.6 of 5)
I have liked M Night-s stuff since 6th sense, yes I liked Stuart Little. He maintains a slow moving tone that is more perfect than boring. It-s your life, not a Hollywood life, in real time. He has other gifts that make the entire experience work as well. You have seen these situations before, but you still have no clue how it will turn out. Then BAM something happens, not far fetched at all mind you, that throws the big picture you expected into a tailspin. The vibe in sixth sense maintain a series of muffled-wows- that by the time the end came you had to remind yourself to breathe. Unbreakable was the same tone but less-wow- and more of a journey of discovery. The only way I can describe M Night-s masterful work is to take plot points write them on puzzle pieces, lay the pieces out then slowly build the puzzle. It-s not just one plot point that leads to another, each point touches 2 others as well. All his films are like this. So how does-Signs- make this work you ask?
Well, imagine-War of the worlds- from the point of view of a small family in Pennsylvania. There are no big battles like ID4, or government help. This is Joe Blow-s story, right when the shit hits the fan. That-s the premise, but not what makes the film great. M. Night does what I have not seen in a film in over ten years; he hits every emotion available. Love, Doubt of Faith, Fear, Courage, Anger, Release, Sadness, Understanding, Helplessness, Wonder, and That cool feeling when Arnold suited up and kicked ass in Commando (I think only guys felt that, but it is in this movie). Not only did he hit these marks, each one was required to take us to the next one, or the next three. Without telling you the movie, each item (props, emotions, camera angles) is not wasted and is crucial in the film. Remember the fear you felt watching-The Legend of Boggy Creek- or the robe in your closet that seemed to wave at you as you peak out from under the covers? Those feelings are in this movie. Saw this at the Pacific Theater in Manhattan Beach. Framing was bad but that didn-t matter, sound was the key, and it worked just fine.
One last thing, M. Night is the only filmmaker recently that has had me thinking about the film 2 hours after I left the theater. I can-t eat; I can-t sleep til I understand the big picture of what just happened. This is-Field of Dreams- in that sense. I would love to make commercial films, it-s been my dream since I was 13 with my first 8MM flipper, I, like many others, have seen 90 percent of the films out there and thought of ways to change them to make them better. I still haven-t figured out a way to make M. Night-s films better. It-s a tribute to his talent, and a shinning beacon of my inadequate filmmaking skills. But that-s why I am a computer tech, and not under contract with Lightstorm, Revolution or Village Roadshow-he he

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