u/maricircus

Can no longer go due to work. $48 total!

I’ve always found Signs to be an incredibly effective—and, in some ways, very influential—film, particularly in the way Shyamalan builds tension within the isolated setting of a rural farmhouse in Pennsylvania. Despite the scale of what’s happening (an alien invasion), almost everything is experienced within the confines of this one house and this one family.

But here's the thing: I’ve never really viewed the alien element of the movie as literal. To me, Signs is less a movie about an alien invasion and more a story about a man reclaiming his faith in the midst of what is essentially a religious apocalypse. Graham is a former priest who has abandoned his faith after the death of his wife, yet throughout the movie, people continue coming to him for reassurance and guidance as though he were still a priest. When the invasion begins, the people around him are essentially confronting the end of the world, and Graham is forced back into the spiritual role he has spent the entire movie trying to reject.

I know the movie gets a lot of criticism for its ending—particularly w/ the reveal that the aliens are "allergic" to water. But I’ve always thought the ending makes much more sense when you view it through a metaphorical lens. The “aliens” aren't really aliens: they are demonic entities. The water left around the house by Bo is actually holy water. Even Merrill defeating the creature with a baseball bat feels like a biblical image: evil being physically beaten out. “Swing away, Merrill” functions almost like a divine instruction. Everything is crystallized in the final sequence of the movie. After Morgan survives the alien’s poisoning, he asks his father, “Did someone save me?" Graham answers, “Yeah, baby. I think someone did. The line has a beautiful double meaning: Graham literally saved his son, but he isn’t really talking about himself. He believes God did.

I’m not a religious person by any means, but I've always found that entire ending sequence to be incredibly moving. Graham spends most of the movie nihilistic and convinced that the universe is seemingly random and indifferent. But by the end, he's a man of purpose and a believer of signs. The aliens are almost secondary. The real invasion in Signs is a crisis of faith, and the real resolution is Graham finding a reason to believe again.

First of all, I love this movie. It’s one of the best explorations of grief I’ve ever seen (right alongside Drive My Car), and the performances are absolutely soul-crushing. Another thing I love about the movie is how funny it can be at times. I love the sequence near the beginning where we see Lee going from house to house interacting with different tenants while working as a plumber/handyman. I think the humor works as a way to establish the grief stricken-ness of his character, but it also gives you a sense of the kind of people who inhabit his world (the north shore of Massachusetts). The entire movie feels like a love letter to this particular corner of Massachusetts, and one of its movie’s greatest strengths is how lived-in and real it feels.

Spoilers ahead

The one time I’m not sure the humor works for me is a scene immediately following the big house fire. Lee’s daughters have just died, his wife is being taken away in an ambulance, and the paramedics awkwardly struggle to get her stretcher into the back of the vehicle. The moment goes on for an uncomfortably long time, to the point where it almost starts to play like physical comedy.
This scene has always felt out of place for me. We’re in the middle of what is probably the most harrowing, gut-punching sequence in the entire film. and suddenly there’s this moment of slapstick? I always thought it undermines the emotional devastation of the scene before it. But I’m curious what other people make of it. Why do you think that moment is there? What is the purpose of it?

If there’s one thing Nolan always delivers on it’s fantastic set pieces. Say what you will about Tenet or Interstellar, but the opera siege and inverted highway chase as well as the waves and docking scene are all great spectacles that remind you why Nolan’s movies are best experienced on the biggest screen possible. I’d even argue that the bomb detonation scene in Oppenheimer is one of Nolan’s crowning achievements. The build-up to that is incredible.

What surprised me most about The Odyssey was that there wasn’t a single set piece that truly blew me away. I loved the creature design of the Cyclops, but I wanted the horror and brutality of it to go a little harder. The fight choreography of the giants in the metal armor felt undercooked, and the Scylla scene kind of just.. happens. It felt like we’d already seen the big moments in the trailers and there wasn’t really any big surprises maybe except for the last Bourne-esque 1 vs. 30 fight scene.

Maybe Nolan was intentionally aiming for a more restrained, mythic approach rather than just pure spectacle… but that’s not how it was advertised. Did the historical setting limit what Nolan could usually do compared to the more modern + high-concept action in his other films?

Just wondering how long it typically takes and if anyone has had theirs accepted sooner?

Looking to build my for PCstation build but read that the middle of the tables tend to sag. I'm planning on adding middle leg for extra support as well as tabletop stiffeners. For those that did the same, where did you purchase?

Hey fellow teachers. I'm a cellist with a pretty solid roster of in-person students but I'd like to take the next step and attract more online students.

It seems there are quite a few platforms for teaching online—Wyzant, Lessonface, Superprof, etc. I was curious which platforms other music teachers have had the most success on in terms of attracting new students.

I was thinking about transitioning some of my current in-person students to whichever platform to help build the visibility of my profile. Appreciate any experiences. Thanks you!

Hey fellow tutors. I'm a cello instructor with a pretty solid roster of in-person students but I'd like to take the next step and attract more online students.

It seems there are quite a few platforms for teaching online—Wyzant, Lessonface, Superprof, etc. I was curious which platforms other music teachers have had the most success on in terms of attracting new students. I used to have a lot of success on "takelessons" but sadly that platform went down.

I'd also like to transition some of my current students onto whichever platform I choose, ask them to leave a few reviews, and help build up my profile. I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks you!