(Rated PG-13, 107 mins.)
There’s no time wasted as the opening tosses up right into the cornfields, set in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where aliens start making designs in the crop. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is the family patriarch who recently lost his wife and now tested to find the truth behind the unfolding mystery, yet refuses to feed into ‘them’ and their tricks. Merrill Hess (Joaquin Phoenix) is his brother, once a former minor league baseball star and now a believer of the outside force. While there are only five characters in the movie who barely leave the farm, the story manages to still have lots of loud sounds, lots of jump-out-of-your-seat moments and even manages to infuse some comedy throughout much of the storyline. But, this premise feels like “Close Encounters” without any real encounters. However, for what it is, it works; like those summer night’s telling spooky tales around a campfire. Phoenix proves he can carry a thriller post “Gladiator” while the two Hess children Morgan and Bo (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin) are flawless in winning our hearts (although after their mother’s recent death and now alien house invasion, they’ll need some serious therapy). And, Mel, is just Mel, the man who wins us in family good films like “The Patriot” and “What Women Want” all over again. Director M. Night Shyamalan, the master of suspense lucked out with “Sixth Sense” then flopped with “Unbreakable”. The only “Sign” here? Faith is the movie message and that message is putting him back on top
