Oh it's a great flick. Atmospheric, lots of tension, a couple decent actors. It's a fun movie. I love the Brazil scene. Creepy.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
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The Brazil scene is top notch. One of the best alien scenes ever.

Another great one is from "District 9" when they board the ship and see all the occupants on the verge of starvation. A simple yet clever way of setting things up.

If I were to have been involved in editing/directing, I would have actually ended the movie when they are locked in the basement and the aliens are pounding on the door. The whole water thing was odd.

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From elsewhere:

SIGNS FAN THEORY Let’s skip the M. Night hatred for a moment. I, too, think he’s become something of a joke. But he HAS made a number of worthwhile movies, and this is one I initially couldn’t stand, thinking it was full of ridiculous plot-holes. And then…EUREKA!

When I first saw this film, I didn’t realize that it wasn’t about aliens at all. It’s about the return of demons. Notice it’s all about a priest’s resurgence of belief, and a preordained moment of redemption-if-dared-and-attempted. There is no alien technology or weaponry or clothing of any kind, only a clawed, naked beast creature and lights in the sky.

Furthermore: The running joke throughout the movie is that people see these “invaders” in a way that’s related to their particular frame of mind: The cop sees them as prankster kids, the bookstore owners see them as “a hoax to sell commercials,” the Army recruitment officer sees them as invading military, the kids see them as UFOs…and the priest sees them as test of faith. This understanding of the film removed my hatred of the “You’ve got to be kidding me; they were killed by WATER!” concept. In fact, the priest’s daughter had been referred to as “holy” (as revealed during Mel’s key monologue)–recognized by all who saw her at her birth as “an Angel;” and her quite particular relationship to water is shown to be very special and spiritual: In other words, she has placed vials of what are, essentially, HOLY WATER all around the house. (And the creature’s reaction when coming in contact with this blessed liquid is EXACTLY like monsters/vampires being splashed by spiritual “acid.”)

This view of the movie also explains the creature’s actions: They act like superior tricksters, are not able to break in through closed doors, can be trapped behind simple wooden latches –all mythological elements of demons and vampire-like creatures of lore. It also explains the news over the radio at the end of the movie that an ancient method of killing the creatures has been found “in three small cities in the Middle East” –one would suspect the religious “hubs” of the three main Abrahamic traditions, each discovering the “mystic methods” of protection-and-dispatch that I’ve noted earlier.

Note also: All the Christian iconography throughout the movie, the references to “Signs and Wonders” (the true meaning of the title), the crucifix shapes hinted-at everywhere (check out the overhead shot, looking down on the street driving into town) and the ultimate fact that the entire movie is built around a Priest rediscovering he is not abandoned to a random, Godless, scientifically-oriented Universe but, rather, is part of a predicted and dreamed-of plan.

Now –these creatures may for all intents and purposes be some sort of extraterrestrial or inter-dimensional “aliens” –but the point of the movie seems to be that they are, in the ACTUALITY OF THE FILM WORLD, the dark stuff from which all the character’s tales of devils and night-creatures were born.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

cool story bro

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This is really interesting.

I picked up on the faith angle but I guess just focused on it only pertaining to Gibson's character. It's also true that a lot of people don't look back upon this film with praise simply because M. Night became a punchline.

Also, if you're into fan theories, check out the Ferris Bueller never existed one.

I don't know if I posted this before so forgive me for my potential redundancy but in Independence day, when will Smith meets the president, he shakes his hand. An air force captain would certainly salute the CinC.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
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I thought this was about the "Is Drinky in Trouble" thread.

Ever seen St. Vincent?
They just completely abandoned the side plot about the loan shark halfway thru.
He never paid them.
They just left him alone?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Just watched the Seinfeld with the softball game and Bette Midler. When George trucks over Bette at the end, he never touches home plate, yet the umpire calls him safe.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

ok, if this is an old thread then i probably said this b4, but i'm going to say it again for the sake of the now:

back to the future 2: how the fuck did old biff end up coming back to the original 2015? wasn't the whole point of him going back to 1955 and giving himself gray's sports almanac was so that he'd return to biffverse 2015 where he'd be rich and powerful and etc etc? once biff went back to 1955 and came back to original 2015, doc marty and jennifer went back to 1985 and found the biffverse 1985 there because old biff had successfully went back to 1955 and given himself the almanac... so why did the changes only apply to rick and morty, erm, doc and marty and not old biff?

that one always bothers the shit out of me because at the very least we should have seen doc and marty realizing that time/reality was getting erased around them, therefore they had to find out where old/biff had left the time machine [or well, shit, the time machine wouldn't exist in regular-2015 since old biff couldn't come back to it] or they'd have to quickly find some long lost prototype time machine that doc had abandoned b4 going with the delorean?

either way.... seriously.... wtf?!
8

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i'm sure bob gale would just call you a nerd, and go about his business. but i think biff was like Teflon. he actually should have created a paradox by meeting his younger self; but by not introducing himself as Biff, and as a "distant relative" (that biff doesn't pick up on), he gets away with it.

that way, he can move about time and space and not create a rip. doc and marty are very much aware of their presence, existence, and therefore create paradoxes for themselves as well as try to prevent ones they predict.

this is why time travel is the ultimate deus ex machina. it's whatever rules the writer wants. "lost" tried to get away with this, in a recent example. we all saw how that played out.

just stick to the original BTTF and leave the sequels for the millennials to sort out.

Another predator issue.... not a plot hole per se but...


Would a Major in the Special Forces muzzle a friendly and also have his finger on the trigger?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
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The Hunt For Red October- CIA analyst Jack Ryan is developing a plan on the fly to direct the Russian submarine to deep waters to better cover the ruse of a fake sinking, USS Dallas captain Bart Mancuso is relaying said message via Morse code on the periscope to the person they assume is only the Russian sub Captain Rameus. Mancuso keys enough Morse code for maybe fifteen to twenty letters to convey this complete plan, and Rameus replies with "one ping only". Then, after boarding the Red October, they are surprised that the Russian Captain speaks English (with a Scottish brough, of course). Were they sending Morse code in Russian or English? And why take the sonar guy on the boarding party to the Red October? Shouldn't there have been a couple Marines available?

God, I love that movie.

Morse code is its own language

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

Wut?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

Released in 2003, Holes stars a young Shai LaBeouf, old Sigourney Weaver, and lucid Jon Voight. A wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he joins the job of digging holes for some mysterious reason. LaBeouf arrives to find that the camp is a dried up lake run by the warden, Louise Walker, her assistant Mr. Sir, and camp counselor Dr. Kiowa Pendanski. Prisoners, who are known by their nicknames – Zero, Armpit, Zig-Zag, Squid, X-Ray, and Magnet – spend each day digging holes in the desert; they may earn a day off if the inmates find anything interesting. After finding a golden lipstick tube initialed K.B. and a fossil, Stanley is accepted into the group and is given the nickname Caveman.

After taking the blame for Magnet's stealing of Mr. Sir's sunflower seeds, Stanley is taken to the warden's house where old wanted posters and newspapers lead him to suspect that "KB" stands for Katherine "Kissin' Kate" Barlow, a school teacher turned outlaw from the past. Walker asks Stanley to grab her box of nail polish and mentions that it contains rattlesnake venom. After he and Mr. Sir explain what happened with the sunflower seeds, Walker injures Mr. Sir and allows Stanley to return to his hole.

Camp Green Lake's history is revealed in a series of flashbacks throughout the film. In the 19th century, Green Lake is a flourishing lakeside community. Kate is involved in a love triangle with the wealthy Charles "Trout" Walker, whom Kate rejects, and an African-American onion seller named Sam, whom Kate loves. One night, after much turmoil, Walker kills Sam and in retaliation, Kate kills the local sheriff and becomes an outlaw; at one point, she steals Elya's son Stanley's chest. Twenty years later, the now bankrupt Walkers track down Kate and demand she hand over her treasure. Kate refuses and tells them to dig for the treasure, after which Kate dies from a lizard bite and the Walkers set about digging for the treasure.

In the present, when Pendanski mocks Zero, who is actually Hector Zeroni, the latter hits Pendanski with a shovel and runs off. After some deliberation, Stanley searches for Hector. The pair have difficulty surviving in the desert without water. Eventually, Stanley carries the now ill Hector up the mountain where they find a wild field of onions baby onions and a source of water, helping them regain strength; at the same time, Stanley unknowingly fulfills his ancestor's promise to the fortune teller and breaks the curse. While camping on the mountain, Stanley discovers that Hector stole the sneakers and threw them over the bridge to evade the police.

Returning to the camp, Stanley and Hector investigate the hole where Stanley found the lipstick and discover a chest before they are discovered by Walker, Mr. Sir, and Pendanski. They soon realize that Walker, who Charles Walker is an ancestor of, is using the inmates to search for his treasure, a clever lad that one.

The next morning, the attorney general and Stanley's lawyer arrive, accompanied by police officers; the chest Stanley found is discovered to belong to his great grandfather before it was stolen by Kate. Walker; Mr. Sir, who is revealed to be a paroled criminal named Marion Sevillo; and Pendanski, who is a criminal impersonating a doctor, are arrested. Stanley and Zero are released and it rains in Green Lake for the first time in over 100 years. The Yelnats family claims ownership of the chest which contains jewels, deeds, and promissory notes, which they share with Hector of course, and both families live a life of financial ease as neighbors.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

Do we just recite entire movie plots here now?

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It was the Plot of Holes... Plot Holes.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

Yes.





Dick

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

BRB. Going to set myself on fire.

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This isn't really a plot hole exactly but...
In Titanic, Lovejoy carries a gun, the one Billy Zane grabs and shoot at Leo, which certainly looks like a very ornate 1911. The titanic sank in April of 1912. The Army just started getting test versions of the 1911 in early 1912. I suppose it's possible that he could have had one at that time, but it would have been blued steel and a surely not a Nickle plated version. Sales to the public didn't begin until late 1912.
So there.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

When the movie came out I remember reading that James Cameron used an actual 1911 from that period. He said the nickel finish was actually nickel ammonium sulfate. He knew some gun geek would question it so he kept details on it in a safe for later use.

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

hitchcock had a stretch of movies where the hot blonde was falling in love with scrawny men, 30 years their senior. never bought into the plots, not realistic at all.

Men looked older than they were back then.

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

you're probably right...fresher air and less food preservatives can't compete with laser teeth whiting lights, bosley hair science, gold's gym and male makeup.

in real life:

- grace kelly was a wee-bit promiscuous and married a king
- kim novak was just as promiscuous and got pushback for 'dating' sammy davis jr.

just can't see them hopelessly in love with a 50 yr old jimmy stewart..either as a photographer with a broken leg or a washed up detective with a fear of heights.

eva marie saint seemed to have her head on straight and falling in love with cary grant due to her profession as a spy, seemed plausible. grant had to be at least 20 years older than her.

maybe hitchcock projected his personal desires through film.

You know, that Kim Novak had some big breasts.

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yeah - to me, hottest of the trio. chicago's very own.

sammy davis jr. should be commended.