BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2

Subject: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 10:35 AM

Since I find crop circles interesting, I made the mistake of going to see this movie yesterday...without taking the trouble to find out first that it is a dumb, paranoid, horror flick with an incredibly tedious script.

For sheer turtle-like pacing, only "The Thin Red Line" can surpass this movie. This is done supposedly in order to build up suspense (yawn). Well, it is fairly suspenseful, if you can accept the basic premise...that aliens would invade the Earth, using crop circles for a very unlikely purpose, and conducting said invasion in a very unlikely and not terribly effective manner...despite having the technology (one assumes) to get here in large numbers in the first place.

It's stupid.

The aliens, whom we get barely a glimpse of (that's part of the suspense, folks) are naked, really ugly and vicious, and colored in a really hideous shade of green.

It figures. Why do aliens in crummy movies always come in a hideous shade of green, and why are they naked? Surely someone using high technology would be likely to be wearing some kind of clothing or harness, wouldn't they? You've almost got to do that, if you are dependent on technological gadgets to do various things. You need pockets, belts, etc...in order to manage the gadgets when they're not in your hand. Duh. It's animals that go around naked, not advanced civilized races capable of interplanetary travel.

The aliens are also easily defeated by ordinary small town Ay-mericans, despite being physically far more adept than we are...etc... Sigh. One wonders why they even tried?

Add to this a family with the charm of a constipated octopus, two little kids who are supposed to be really kind of sweet but act so weird and say such totally unlikely things that you would think THEY are the invading aliens...

And Mel Gibson, playing a wounded ex-priest who has lost his faith and fallen into cynicism...but has it restored at the eleventh hour...

Who are the people who write these scripts? That's what I want to know. Why are they still working? Why did the girl behind me keep screaming every time something happened suddenly (after 15 minutes of s-l-o-o-o-w-w buildup to the obvious next crisis, and lots of darkness)?

This movie makes every crass attempt possible to manipulate your emotions and increase your paranoia. It is a completely worthless effort that has nothing to do with crop circles or aliens, but with the illusions of 21st century America about itself. There really isn't one character in the movie who is even likeable...they all act weird and say very odd things. You begin to wish the aliens would take over. It might be an improvement.

Don't waste your money on it. I give it 1 and 1/2 stars. My review is a public service on behalf of anyone I can reach via this forum.

- LH

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Amos
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 10:45 AM

Thanks, LH!! We all thank you!! We were building this colossal line, and thanks to your review we can all go home now!! LOL!!

A

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 10:55 AM

If I save just one person from losing an hour and a half to this piece of shit movie, Amos, I will gain some measure of satisfaction... It's the only way I can strike back at the buggers who made it. It is the highest grossing movie in America at this moment.

One thing though, it's not as bad as either "Independence Day" or "Armageddon" were, and they made lots of money.

- LH

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 11:10 AM

Hawk: I haven't been tempted to see Signs. Is it as stupid as The Others? I just watched that and wonder why it got such good reviews. Trick ending? It's already been done in the Sixth Sense. When all is revealed, the stupidity of all the previous scenes is exposed. The ending of The Sixth Sense made earlier scenes make sense, not just sleem manipulative. If you want to get the creeps, watch The Innocents with Deborah Kerr. >BR>

Thanks for the warning..

Jerry

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Kim C
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 11:16 AM

How much charm does a constipated octopus have!?

I admit, I will either go see this as a matinee, or rent it when it comes out on DVD. I am a sucker for these kinds of movies. I liked Sixth Sense and Unbreakable pretty well. I mean, this isn't a genre where you can really expect a whole lot as far as clever plots go.

We got our Lord of the Rings DVD last night... nyah nyah nyah! :-)

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Big Mick
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 11:29 AM

I am, for the most part, in agreement with Little Hawk. If you are a fan of Night's, you will probably think it is OK. I don't see anyone thinking this is a classic. I am interested enough to concentrate on it, and on the various devices he uses, and found them interesting. But the idea that this will be one of the blockbusters of the summer is beyond me. It drags, but for the most part all the parts connect pretty well. I guess what puts me off is the way that Gibson, and the kids play their parts. They are painfully and obviously colorless, to the point of distraction. I understand the subtlties of blackness, but this was ridiculous. Funny how it left me dissatisfied, yet just a bit appreciative of it.

Mick

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: harpgirl
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 11:42 AM

...Just tell me why the crop circles are there and I won't have to spend my money. I'm a sucker for mysteries! I'm going to "Wild Adventures" instead. Nathan and I want to groove to "Who Let the Dogs Out": the Baha Men in concert!! Life is good...hg

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: harpgirl
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 11:53 AM

But LH, don't we go to the movies to have our emotions manipulated and the s**t scared out of us? It's much more fun than the real things that do this!!!!!

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 12:00 PM

harpgirl - The crop circles are there...get this...so that the invading aliens can use them as maps, signposts, to direct them to their local attack zones! Right...so people who can easily navigate across the galaxy need crop circles to orient them once they arrive at planet Earth. Ummmm... Who let the dogs out, indeed!

What a waste. Such a fascinating movie could have been made about crop circles...

Mick - "colorless" is the word all right. I haven't seen such inhuman acting in a long time...seemingly calculated to move our emotions in some predictable fashion. Quite odd.

- LH

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Pied Piper
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 12:03 PM

Hi Harpgirl. I'm afraid there's no mystery hear the circles were made by people with rope, pieces of wood, and an understanding of the mind set of the gullible. All the best PP.

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Jeri
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 12:12 PM

So once the real meaning of the crop circles had been discovered, earthlings could have really screwed up the aliens by mowing the fields?

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Hollowfox
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 12:19 PM

LH, why did you give it such a high rating? Was there something you liked tucked in among the dross?

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 12:23 PM

Yes!!! But they could have screwed them up even worse by all those hoaxers Pied Piper is referring to making many other crop circles in different places, by golly! LOL! It's obviously so easy to do that that one wonders why it wasn't done immediately by responsible hoaxers everywhere...

Talk about gullibillity.

Believe me, the aliens in this movie were wasting their time. So will you if you go to see it.

- LH

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 01:41 PM

Hollowfox - Ha! Well, yes, it was reasonably good purely as a suspense/horror film...fairly scary. That, however, is not what I want to see in connection with crop circles or alien visitors. Had I realized that was the basic nature of the movie, I would never have gone to see it in the first place. I hope that by alerting others to that, they may not make the same mistake I did. If you're just after thrills and chills, this is a fairly good movie at which to get a few.

- LH

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: SharonA
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 02:10 PM

Yeah, I'd kinda figured from the TV commercials that this movie was going to be pretty poor. Every time I saw the little girl saying in a monotone that there were monsters under the bed, and Mel's wide-eyed gawking at flashing lights, I thought: "If those are the best clips they could find to advertise this movie, it must really bite!"

The only reason I might go see it is that it was made on location RIGHT HERE IN BEE-YOO-TIFUL SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA!! The making-of-the-movie stories have been on the local TV news ad nauseum, including video of people walking around on a tour of the "crop circles" after filming was done.

By the way, they changed the name of the pizzeria in Newtown PA for the movie; it's actually "Mama's". The proprietor says she had to make 10 pizzas for the scene where Mel eats a slice, since for each take he had to start with a fresh pie. They've put a little plaque on the chair where Mel sat!

For anyone who's interested in the town, here's the historic association's page: http://www.twp.newtown.pa.us/historic/nha.html

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Wesley S
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 02:14 PM

Little Hawk - To answer a few of your questions -

1 - The aliens were nekked because they were on vacation - they were out of towners and everyone knows people do crazy shit when they go on vacation.

2 - The world was saved by ordinary Americans ?? Of course. You don't expect the Canadians will save the world do you ? If they did who would want to see a movie about it ?

3 - The people who write these scripts ? Why are they still working ? Because they make MONEY. Hollywoods favorite color { Also why the aliens were green too }You went to see it didn't you ? Hollywood wins again.

4 - The litte girl who kept screaming likes to be scared. My wife would most likely guess that there was a Bob Dylan song in the soundtrack.

I'll try to see the move this weekend so I can make some more comments. :)

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 02:44 PM

Seems to be the prevailing opinion among my online-chummers...

Some of my meat space mates have given it good reviews, but when it comes to movies, this certain group and I have very different opinions of what's enjoyable...

As far as M Night goes, well, I think he's batting 500... I really enjoyed Unbreakable, but called 6th Sense about 15 minutes or so into the film... The better movie at the time was Stir OF Echoes...

And well, has there been an M Night movie that didn't suffer from his 'pacing'???

And crop circles?? What could possibly be scary about crop circles??? The dumbest of the dumb 'supernatural occurances', especially when there hasn't been a sing one of them that wasn't proven to be a hoax... A movie about Fish-rains, and Tarot Card Readers would have more potential for horror...

I'll wait till I can get it for free from Blockbuster...

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: MAG
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 06:40 PM

I liked both *Unbreakable* and *Sixth Sense,* but have no intention of going to see *Signs.* Everything that needs to be said about them was covered on the (wonderful) Arthur Clarke TV show. The extremely rare documented occurences were natural dust devils, or mini-whirlwinds, and looked nothing like the elaborate hoaxes. Arthur commented he thought a few more farmers with buckshot would take care of the "phenomenon."

Subject: RE: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 06:45 PM

Blockbuster doesn't give anything away for free, Clinton. Furthermore, if you spend five minutes inside a Blockbuster Video store you run the risk of being neutered from all the video rays coming off all the video screens that are screaming at you...Blockbuster is the video store from hell.

Wesley - I will get you for that, Wesley... To respond to your answers:

1 - The aliens were nekked because they were on vacation - they were out of towners and everyone knows people do crazy shit when they go on vacation.

My goodness! That had never occurred to me...

2 - The world was saved by ordinary Americans ?? Of course. You don't expect the Canadians will save the world do you ? If they did who would want to see a movie about it ?

Like I said, I'll get you...actually they did say in the movie that it was some people "in the Middle East" who first found a simple way to fight the aliens (probably with water pistols, I expect...), so it was Middle Easterners who saved the world. They didn't say which Middle Easterners. What if it was the Iraquis???

3 - The people who write these scripts ? Why are they still working ? Because they make MONEY. Hollywoods favorite color { Also why the aliens were green too }You went to see it didn't you ? Hollywood wins again.

Sad but true! Drek makes money.

4 - The litte girl who kept screaming likes to be scared. My wife would most likely guess that there was a Bob Dylan song in the soundtrack.

She wasn't a little girl, she was a full grown girl (physically, at least). There were no Bob Dylan songs in the film. The idiot who wrote the script has probably never even heard of Bob Dylan.

You will pay, Wesley. Attack hamsters are already on the way and they will find you.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: MAG
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 07:00 PM

There were adolescent screamers in the theater when I saw *The Others.* I have no idea whether I would like it or not, it was so totally ruined for me. Some gotta act out being scared. Life isn't scary enough?

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 07:13 PM

"Blockbuster doesn't give anything away for free"

Shows what you know... I get lots of stuff from them for free...

"Blockbuster is the video store from hell"

Beats the hell out of the alternatives...

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Celtic Soul
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 07:20 PM

Little Hawk penned: "This movie makes every crass attempt possible to manipulate your emotions and increase your paranoia. It is a completely worthless effort that has nothing to do with crop circles or aliens, but with the illusions of 21st century America about itself. There really isn't one character in the movie who is even likeable...they all act weird and say very odd things. You begin to wish the aliens would take over. It might be an improvement".

You had me until the above comment. I am at a loss to figure out how a movie written and directed by a man from Pondicherry, India is somehow indicative of 21st Century American angst.

SIGNS Credit and crew:

M Night Shyamalan, Director

M Night Shyamalan, Screenplay

Vital Stats:

Birth Name: Manoj Shyamalan

Born: August 6, 1970

Birth Place: Pondicherry, India

Nationality: Indian

Also, there may be enough evidence out there to come to some conclusions as to what crop circles really are, but aliens? Are we to infer that you are saying you *do* know what they are and what they are about?

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 07:49 PM

Celtic - Nope, I don't know what they are, but I think that one could make a very interesting movie about them, whether or not it was a fictional storyline. Some of them are certainly hoaxes, some most likely are not. It's the ones that are not which are really intriguing, and I do not have any explanation for them, except to say that they are the product of a purposeful intelligence (obviously). Whose intelligence and what purpose is the question.

Interesting info about Mr. Shyamalan...and he's from Pondicherry? How about that. I've been studying some spiritual materials from Pondicherry.

Wherever he is from, this movie was still all-American in tone, but it did credit Middle-Easterners with finding a solution to the aliens, which is an unexpectedly refreshing twist. Maybe Shyamalan slipped that one by them somehow...

I say it's still about North American angst, because that's what sells. If Shyamalan was writing scripts for the Indian market, you'd get a 3 hour long movie with lots of singing and dancing scenes, and a couple of star-crossed lovers, and an authoritarian father who just doesn't understand, plus some comedy and tragedy in more or less equal parts, plus a smattering of family and religious values thrown in. At the end, the girl would either get her man...or they would both die tragically. The happy ending is generally preferred by Indian audiences.

Clinton - it is precisely because all the alternatives in my town are preferable to Blockbuster that I don't go there. Blockbuster stores are a visual and auditory assault on the customer. They are polluted with noise and advertising. They are monuments to marketing excess. They are the soul brothers of WalMart and McDonalds...mindless, heartless, money-making chain monstrosities. But...they are also BIG, which may be why you like them. But what is it that you get for free from them besides a headache? Tell me so that I will know what I'm missing...

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Celtic Soul
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 08:05 PM

Actually, LH, I had to go back and do a little more research. My initial info had him as *from* Pondicherry (implying he only came here of late)...but another website has him as having been born there, but *raised* here in the states...

"Born in India but raised in posh suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, the son of two doctors."

So, my bad there. I should have cross checked a few sites before posting.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 08:10 PM

"what is it that you get for free from them besides a headache?"

No headache at all... not from them, or Walmart, or McDonalds... I like all those places and more...

It's called the 21st Century... give it a try...

What do I get for free? All kinds of stuff... Rentals... PVT's... on the off chance I have a late fee, I can promise you I don't pay for it...

Know anybody else, for instance who got Lord Of The Rings on DVD for free from them?

I did...

Just goes to show you, it's not what you know, it's who you know...

"*raised* here in the states"

Ya... ya only need to hear one interview with him to know he's a product of an Amererican upbringing... Maybe his next movie will be better eh?

;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Celtic Soul
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 08:14 PM

I would also add that it is not truly American angst that you see coming out in American film. America is a vast cross cut of world culture with some of it's own uniqueness mixed in. What Hollywood pumps out is not necessarily what we here live or feel. It's what they can sell, not only to us, but to the rest of you poor shlubs as well. American films are translated into a vast array of languages for that very reason. Don't ask me why...but in any case, I blame Hollyweird, not America. Hollyweird really does *not* have it's finger on the pulse of America. It has it's finger on the pulse of those that march to *Hollywoods* rhythm. And anyone who's been there can tell you...Hollywood aint America.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 08:21 PM

Ah. Amazing how many doctors come from India, and a great many of them are female too. My mother visited Pakistan once for about 6 weeks and met a number of middle class Pakistani women. She said that on average they were exceedingly well educated...far more so than their North American female counterparts...and many of them were in high profile professions such as doctor, lawyer, university professor, etc...

BTW, the summary I gave of the "Indian" movie was quite typical of the general run of them, but not universal. There has been some very good original movie-making in India too with fresh ideas. One thing which simply cannot be shown in Indian movies, so I hear, is mouth to mouth kissing! Sexual intercourse (simulated, that is) can be shown, but not kissing.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: NicoleC
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 11:47 PM

What a bummer. I thought the ads looked pretty pathetic, too, but Joachin usually picks some really good films. Then again, I hear he's agreed to star in an upcoming cheesy sci-fi flick, so maybe he's decide "more work, less art."

As for crop circles, there are a whole crop (sorry) of them that are just really eerie and totally different than the wild hoax patterns you see in the UK. The "real" ones are just plain circles or a couple of them together, and have a distinct set of characteristics that identifies them as different than the others. Like every single seed of the grain missing.

There's so much stuff we don't understand about nature, it seems ridiculous to jump to the conclusion that aliens who can fly across interstellar space to visit us can't manage to drop us a note saying, "Hi" instead of writing on crops.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Peg
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 01:11 AM

Darn! I was looking forward to seeing this one. Especially after the recent Weetabix crop circle that appeared in Wiltshire! (see www.swirlednews.com)

One good recent horror flick I can recommend (though it is indie so you may have to rent it if it does not play in your town) is WENDIGO. Suspenseful, scary and very well-done. Subtle, too, which is always a welcome change. Great acting, writing, editing and photography (those last three all by the same guy).

(BTW, I also agree Blockbuster is the spawn of Satan, and that Walmart and McDonald's are evil, too...and anyone who needs to be told why, I can't say much, except that Walmart and chains like it have destroyed our economy and McDonald's and chains like it have slowly poisoned our nation and are now out to slowly poison the world)

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Guessed
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 11:06 AM

these aliens? were they ceareal killers?

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 11:07 AM

Yeah, Peg. It's so damn obvious the moment you walk into them that it amazes me when people don't even notice! I went to Blockbuster video exactly twice, felt totally uncomfortable with the whole setup, and have never gone back. It's a good store for androids to shop at, I think, but not human beings.

Clinton - Well, okay, you like the place, and I don't. The 21st century doesn't bother me in the least, but high-pressure chain stores do. I hate commercial excess and I hate advertising, and do what I can to avoid it....which is to say, I avoid radio and commercial TV, and places like Blockbuster video. I fondly remember the days (not too long ago) when you could rent a movie video and NOT have to sit through 4 or 5 trailers for OTHER MOVIES THAT YOU NEVER WANT TO SEE ANYWAY before getting to see the one that you rented it for!~!Q!!!! I fondly remember when the phone rang and it was a friend rather than some f**king telemarketer or a long distance server trying to get you to switch from Bell to them or vice versa (they ALL lie). I find life much more pleasant without a phone, in fact, now that I have email...so obviously, I'm comfortable with innovation...it's hard sell I can't stand. When I want information, I read newspapers, the Internet, and books...none of which waste my time by trying to sell me something (although the Internet guys are working on ways to do just that, aren't they? When will we have to sit through 5 minutes of ads before logging on, I wonder?). Ultimately, books are the finest resource, always were, and probably always will be, and they are untainted by advertising.

Celtic - Good point about Hollyweird. I agree.

Nicole - Yeah. What if they have in fact tried a great variety of ways of saying "hi", none of which are much in the public consciousness most of the time, because the government has made sure to bury, deny, or suppress all such info for the time being? Whether they are responsible for any crop circles, I do not know, but that they are out there, yes, I am certain that they are, for more reasons than I have the time or space here to list. And nothing I can say about it will change anyone's mind, because that would entail changing an element of their basic identity...which, of course, they are quite unwilling to do. I can understand that.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: catspaw49
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 11:40 AM

What the hell is American angst? I'm American and I want to know what angst I should be feeling. The angst I feel doesn't seem to be related to being American........more like being human. Or perhaps, in the case of cretins like Clinton and me, sub-human, since we're not bothered by Wal-Mart, Mickey D's, or Blockbuster. Don't bother answering since I really don't give a shit. But I do have one question of great importance-------Would Shatner have impoved the movie?

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 12:07 PM

Hmmmmm...would Shatner have improved it?

Well, yes, I think he would have...but not by much. It's hard to rescue a script that bad, even with outrageous overacting. He would have been a refreshing alternative, though, to the lifeless performances of the rest of the cast. In fact, I think he would have seemed almost normal in comparison.

American angst, Spaw, is comparable to Roman angst in the early centuries of the common era (A.D.)...it's a combination of emotional reactions to material excess, social decadence, philosophical impotence, cultural exhaustion, imperial ambition in the face of not much left to conquer, and the nasty subliminal feeling that there are a lot of foreign people out there in the hinterlands who hate your guts...for some mysterious reason. This angst has also been suffered by other great empires in moral decline, like the British, the Austro-Hungarians, the Persians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and so on. Nothing all that new, really. It's the price of what is called "success" in a competitive system.

Then there is human angst, as you pointed out. We've all got that. Things like...my hair is thinning, my gut is getting too big, my dog doesn't respect me, "Ah haven't seen mah willie in 3 years and that's enough tae declare it legally daid!" and stuff like that...

Not giving a shit is the first sign that it's really getting out of hand... :-) I think you need a few sessions with Dr. Liebenscheiss.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: NicoleC
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 12:16 PM

LH: Absolute cure for telemarketers: 1) Get broadband/DSL/satellite/etc. access for internet 2) Ditch the land line phone 3) Go 100% cellular

Telemarker's can't call cell phones -- no messing with bogus no-call lists, no screening phone calls, and no interupted practice time unless it's a friend.

I do believe in intelligent extraterrestrial life. Still withholding judgement on whether they are visiting us or not, but I lean toward yes. I just don't buy the alien crop circle connection -- any time we can't explain something there are people who jump on the "it must be aliens" bandwagon.

Now if *I* were an alien and wanted to get the attention of the people of Earth but had been suppressed by governments, I'd just buy air time on a national TV network (any will do) and advertise the next UFO sighting :)

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Amos
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 12:22 PM

Ach, mein freund Catschpaugh!!

Vot feelinks go froo your mindt ven you feel like assherting "Don't bother answering since I really don't give a shit ", eh? Do you tink you are schomehow compenschating fer a shense of inferiority -- perhapsch your exaggerationsd about peeing off a bridge undt feeling der vater mit yor Villie are von der shame root, ja?? Undt ya klnow, neifer vun is true shtory, now, isschn't dot sho? Scho, der inferority is how you schay, phallic in origin, ya??

ZO!! Ve haf der focusch on der ting, vich iss, too much focus on der Ting, ya??

Gute, gute -- vee are haff-vay dere already!! Ya!!

Don't tank me, Herr Shpaugh...dere vill be a bill indt der mail, ya???


Liebenscheiss

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: MMario
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 12:24 PM

telemarketers don't call cell phones? since when?

we get a lot of telemarketing calls over our cell phones.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: catspaw49
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 12:26 PM

Ahh, I see........So you reckon that patronizing my local video store and giving up Big Macs will cure this huh? That being the case, I think I'm in trouble since I rarely rent tapes and dump all my money into 250 TV channels thru Time-Warner and I had to give up Mickey D because they use sesame seed buns....I prefer Wendy's anyhow.


Spaw---Doing what I can to save the empire.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 12:28 PM

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Mein Gott...Liebenscheiss neffer fails to get shtraight to ze point und pin ze tail right on ze donkey's arsche!

ROTFL!!! Wunderbar!

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 01:47 PM

"it's hard sell I can't stand"

Is it so hard to say, "No Thanks" and walk away? Works for telemarketers as well...

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: MMario
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 01:51 PM

'spaw - you don't know how relieved we are to hear that you prefer Wendy's buns to Mickey's.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 02:05 PM

Took the words right out of my mouth, Mario! I kind of like Wendy's myself, as fast food places go.

Clinton - Yeah, you can do that all right. The problem with TV and radio ads (and telemarketers too) is that they rob you of your time while you are waiting for something else which you actually DO want to listen to or do or watch, etc...plus they intrude in the middle of something that you are maybe interested in and break your train of thought, while screaming at you about something else. This is paricularly a problem when watching a movie and having it constantly interrupted by commercials, which is why I no longer watch movies on commercial TV. Imagine what it would be like if they did this at the theatre too! I suppose everyone would sieze the opportunity to go to the washroom or get some more popcorn. Gosh, wouldn't that be great? Imagine it happening 15 or 20 times through the course of the movie, and you will grasp why I don't like advertising.

Advertising in magazines and newspapers doesn't bother me (much) because I can just flip past it and ignore it and it doesn't make me wait before I get to read what I am actually there to read.

Spaw - You have access to 250 TV channels????? My God. What the hell for? Are you still sane? What is "Mickey D"? We don't have them in Canada.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: NicoleC
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 02:29 PM

Really, Mario? Maybe it's a California thing...

(pause for internet search)

You know, I thought the TCPA said no calls to cell phones, but it only bans recorded messages and auto-dialers, not actual live salespeople.

Wow. I've had the same cell phone number for 8 years and have never received a single telemarking call there, and it's the one I give out specifically so I WON'T get calls. Guess I've been lucky.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Kim C
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 05:50 PM

I get telemarketers on my cell phone. But I have caller ID on that phone, and I have a policy of not answering when it says "Incoming Number Not Available." If they keep bugging me, I'll answer, and tell them This is a cell phone, don't call me anymore, thank you.

Y'all, it's just a story. I don't get the idea from the trailers that it's pretending to be anything else. Just a story.

We went to see Reign of Fire a couple weeks ago. I thought it was all right. It scared me well enough. Our local newspaper writer said "it's long on action and short on plot." Well, DUH. That's like going to McDonald's and complaining that it's long on fat and short on nutrition. An action movie has action. A scary movie has scaries. If you expect anything besides that, you're likely to be disappointed.

Although, I wasn't expecting anything from the Blair Witch Project, and I was disappointed anyway. I thought it was just plain annoying, a bunch of screaming brats in the woods.

It's a big contrast to movies like Cleopatra and Lawrence of Arabia, though, isn't it? Those guys didn't have all the great technical gizmos moviemakers have now, and had to rely on brains, creativity, and something called Good Acting to make a movie. What a concept.

A movie I hated, that everyone else seemed to really like, was Thelma and Louise. I thought they were a couple of the stupidest bimbos I'd ever seen in my life.

Thankfully, it was just a story. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 06:12 PM

"Thelma and Louise" was a kind of dumb movie all right. I think it was capitalizing on the post-feminist-gals-take-charge syndrome that was really popular for a while there. For some males though, just the sight of Geena Davis's jawline is enough to get them to buy the ticket... Jeezus! Lookit them choppers!

I agree entirely with your assessment of the "Blair Bitch Project", the very apotheosis of annoying movies.

If I was a TV watcher, I would have undoubtedly realized from the trailers you mention that "Signs" was not my kind of movie, and not gone to see it in the first place. My affection for crop circles sucked me in. Little did I realize that this movie was not really about crop circles in anything except the most superficial sense. I guess there really are some advantages to watching TV after all!

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: catspaw49
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 07:29 PM

I don't think I had noticed Davis' jawline Hawk......legs, yes.....jawline, no. That's okay, I'm currently hooked on the talents of Charlize Theron who has a fantastic presence and a broad range of abilities to play very different roles......Reindeer Games, Bagger Vance, Cider House Rules, The Yards, Men of Honor.....not to mention legs that go clear up to her ass...and what a fine ass it is!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 07:57 PM

Geena Davis also has fantastic legs, no question about that. She must be a very tall girl. I have not yet seen Charlize Theron.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: catspaw49
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 09:25 PM

You pissed away your money on "Signs" and haven't seen any of the ones I listed above? Well hell Hawk, no wonder you're pissed at Hollywood!!!

You oughta' love "The Legend of Bagger Vance" since it's a version of the tale of Arjuna and Bhagavan from the Bhavavad Gita.....The first time I saw it I thought, "Geez, that's a neat story and a real life lesson....and it's really familiar!" Later it finally hit me...even the characters - Bagger Vance=Bhagavan, Rannulph Junah=Arjuna[R.Junah]) You'd love it!
Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Amos
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 10:06 PM

Vot schort of man is diss who can talk peckers and farts out off vun shide of hiss mousch in vun inschtant, undt der next inschtant discuss der Bhagavadt Gita mitt aplomb??

Anscher: Dat wass no plomb, dat vuss my vife!!

Leedle choke, ja?


Liebenscheiss

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Celtic Soul
Date: 08 Aug 02 - 10:11 PM

Mickey D's = McDonalds. I guess it's USA slang. So, yeah...you got 'em. You just wish you didn't.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't waste your money on 'Signs' - *1/2
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 Aug 02 - 12:19 AM

Right....I see.

Spaw, do you mean Arjuna and Baghavan or do you mean Arjuna and Krishna? I don't recall a specific character named Baghavan in the Gita. Baghavan is a name for God (of course, so is Krishna, in a sense).

Sounds like I missed some good ones all right...

- LH