Film, Video, Music, Theatre
Reviews of "Signs" and "In the Bedroom"
By Phil Contrino
Aug 14, 2002, 23:30

Signs
Mel Gibson
PG-13
M. Night Shyamalan
"Sings" is the latest film from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan who brought us the slightly overrated "The Sixth Sense" and the underated "Unbreakable".

The film, like Shyamalan's previous efforts, is a well-structured piece of work that is building up to a suprising or shocking conclusion. Because of this, it's wrong to reveal any plot details - except the fact that crop circles play a very limited role in the film. It's best to go into this film knowing as little as possible, so you can discover everything at the same time as the characters do.
Although, the overall experience of "Signs" was a good one, I can't help but feel a little cheated by the ending of the film. "Unbreakable" also had a somewhat weak ending, whereas the ending to "The Sixth Sense" was fantastic. Shyamalan needs to deliver a little more punch to his endings if he's going to spend the endire film building them up.
Grade: B+

In the Bedroom
Tom Wilkinson
R
Todd Fields

In the Bedroom is a very restained and mostly boring tale of murder in a small town. It shouldn't have been nominated for the Best Picture. But it does have it's moments of brilliance, which is why I recommend it as a satisfying rental. Just don't watch it late at night or while operating heavy machinery, because you may fall asleep.
Grade: B-

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