Signs

Is it really about aliens?

M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" (2002) is about a disillusioned ex-minister (Mel Gibson) who lives in the country with his son & daughter and brother (Juaquin Phoenix). The reasons for his disillusionment become clear as the story unfolds. When a mysterious crop circle is discovered in their cornfield they wonder if it's a prank or an alien invasion!

Although the plot deals with a possible alien invasion, the theme is faith. There are two general views of life: (1) That life and the universe are one big meaningless accident and you're just an insignificant bug that will soon be squashed out of existence and memory. And (2) that there's an intelligent design to the universe and, although it's somehow falle...

Not my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film. Also not my least favorite...

It's barely over an hour and a half this film, but it seems much longer. Mel Gibson ("Graham") is a widowed former pastor who lives on a farm with his two kids "Morgan" (Rory Culkin) and "Bo" (Abigail Breslin) and his brother "Merrill" (Joaquin Phoenix). Their lives are all rolling along normally until one morning they discover some crop circles amongst the corn fields. Dismissing them as hoaxes, they are intrigued when television reports suggest a proliferation of these things all around the world. Now add to their now heightened suspicions some late night noises and mysterious happenings, and the family begin to suspect that they are being watched - and that their observer is not exactly benign. The last ten minutes or so redeem this stor...