signal

Smoke Signals
$14.99
I'm a bit bewildered by the few negative reviews that this movie has garnered here on Amazon. To set one reviewer's mind at ease: although I too consider myself a liberal, I would not hesitate to give any piece of art a bad review, IF it deserved it.

Since many more reviewers have stated their cases far more eloquently than I could, let me just say this: I think this is a charming, quirky, well-acted, thought-provoking movie. Its slow pace perfectly reflects the feel of life; it's not a shoot-'em-up, mind-numbing exercise in "entertainment," but a thoughtful study, a singular piece of art, a reflection of life. Perhaps, because it's texture and pacing are different, it seems quite unique and unsettling.

As Shakespeare says, acting (and by extension its venues, plays and movies) has a purpose: "to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure." I think SMOKE SIGNALS does that quite well!

The Signal: A Novel
$25.95
Carlson is a fine writer; he does wonderful things with words. Avoids cliches like the plague, you might say. His male characters (cf. "Five Skies") are often both tough and tender - vulnerable after lives that have taken bad turns. Such is the main character, Mack, in this novel about a young man's last annual fishing trip with his now ex-wife.

The plot, however, strains credibility. And that may be because "The Signal" wants too much to be a movie. The romance, the building of suspense, the travelogue setting of lakes, mountains, and forest, and the perilous circumstances that have you racing through the last pages make it a candidate for a Hollywood treatment. Did I say there's a poignant denouement that can easily get tweaked into a full-on happy one for a movie audience?

If all that's OK with you, you may well like this book. Beautifully written and heart-stopping in a lot of ways. Could get you hooked on Carlson, if you aren't already, and that's not a bad thing.

The Signal
$14.98
This movie could have been so much better than it was. Not sure why so many people gave this movie such high praise. I guess they were not sober while watching it. The first third of the movie held my attention and although it was very similar to 28 days/weeks, the angle was different and interesting and had you wanting to know what the hell the signal was.

The second part of film was utter nonesense and a waste of time. It was trying too hard to be a horror comedy like "The Cottage." It was so predictible. Yawn. Anyone that likes this part of the movie, has obviously not seen enough horror comedy movies (Shaun of the Dead) because this part was not original in the slightest and not worth watching at all.

The third part felt misplaced, as if this director wanted it to be genius like "Memento" or something. Sorry, it just wasn't working. In the end, the Signal was meaningless. The Movie never told you where the signal came from, why it existed, or why should we care?

I really wanted to like this moving, especailly since the begining was rather good, but I can't in good consicous recommend this film. You would be better served to rent the individual DVDs of 28 Weeks Later, The Cottage or Shaun of the Dead, and Memento on their own.

The Signal [Blu-ray]
$24.98
This movie could have been so much better than it was. Not sure why so many people gave this movie such high praise. I guess they were not sober while watching it. The first third of the movie held my attention and although it was very similar to 28 days/weeks, the angle was different and interesting and had you wanting to know what the hell the signal was.

The second part of film was utter nonesense and a waste of time. It was trying too hard to be a horror comedy like "The Cottage." It was so predictible. Yawn. Anyone that likes this part of the movie, has obviously not seen enough horror comedy movies (Shaun of the Dead) because this part was not original in the slightest and not worth watching at all.

The third part felt misplaced, as if this director wanted it to be genius like "Memento" or something. Sorry, it just wasn't working. In the end, the Signal was meaningless. The Movie never told you where the signal came from, why it existed, or why should we care?

I really wanted to like this moving, especailly since the begining was rather good, but I can't in good consicous recommend this film. You would be better served to rent the individual DVDs of 28 Weeks Later, The Cottage or Shaun of the Dead, and Memento on their own.