Back at the famous Chinese theater in Hollywood, I got in line a little after 9:00 for the 10:30 show. At the time there were around 30 - 40 people in line, but as time grew closer to 10:00, the line grew fairly long and down the block. We were let in a little before 10:00, with the theater holding (I'm guessing) 1000 - 1300 seats, filling up to sell-out status as 10:30 arrived.

The lights dimmed to plenty of cheering and applauding for the ride to come.

As for trailers, we had The Four Feathers, which got no apparent reaction from the audience but it didn't seem like interest for the movie was all that great in the room. As for me, if at all, I'll wait for video.

Somewhere along the way Formula 51 showed, which amused at times and got somewhat of a blank response at others. When it finished, I was expecting some sort of enthusiasm to result from the moviegoers, but nothing happened.

Probably the best preview of the whole bunch (from my standpoint), Moonlight Mile played to a quiet reception that almost seemed as if the audience was really into it. But as the trailer concluded, one or two people in the audience attempted to jump-start a light applause, which was killed by a college student's very humorous out-loud response that had the majority of the theater giggling (it wasn't a particular remark, but more so the noise he made; you had to be there).

Ghost Ship was shown, and despite the criticism I read online regarding the trailer before seeing Signs again, I didn't think it looked that bad. Sort of a take-off of House on Haunted Hill meets...one of those other teen horror adventures that isn't coming to mind offhand. The trailer surprisingly appeared like it had the audience's attention, and even afterwards there was a little cheering and some claps. But part of the audience just wouldn't accept that response which resulted in some "boo!"s as well. An intriguing reaction.

Then there was Sweet Home Alabama, which drew a few chuckles here and there, with the loudest laughs coming from the "bar" scene joke. Other than that, not much response.

As for reactions to the movie, Signs, from the looks of it, had EVERYONE in the room. Browsing around message boards on Friday, I was hearing comments that some crowds reacted a little harshly surrounding some of the material. None of that happened with mine. The laughs got everyone heartily chuckling along, and at a few specific moments, loud laughter erupted to the point of applause. The audience tonight actually had a more fun response to one of the most spine chilling moments in the film where we see something that was recorded earlier, with the crowd letting out screams at "the moment" that didn't happen with my preview audience (however, my original crowd was still taken over completely by it).

Quite possibly one of the most thrilling moments in the film to see with a large audience, the "knife reflection" scene was absolutely priceless with the reactions. Absolutely terrifying shrieking screams sounded off with even those good sports in the room trying to start an applause afterwards even though they got the crap scared out of them.

When Signs ended, it got a loud ovation, with one woman in back of me exclaiming, "that was excellent!" I turned over to my two friends beside me asking for their opinion, with "I loved that!" being both of their reactions. Walking out, nearly five seconds separate from each other, I heard one guy claim he could have gone without the Blair Witchy moment, but I really didn't see that as an issue. Nearly five seconds later I heard another guy giggling to his friend about how much the movie scared the living hell out of him. Out of the theater, one of my friends commented that it was the scariest film to come out in a long time and that it better make millions.

After a much needed discussion on Signs afterwards (I went three months without one), I have to say that my recent twist theory (no spoilers yet) that could be beneath the movie in a secret manner may have gone to hell, but I still plan to have an article by the end of the weekend on Signs with definite spoilers attached.

Waiting in line for the 10:30 show, the 7:30 let out and it looked like it could have possibly been sold out, as droves of people were heading out, almost never-ending. When the 10:30 let out at 12:30, there was a line of 30 - 50 people for the late night showing at 1 am.

Outside of box office and whatnot, I have to say that this is the first time where I've been engrossed in every second of a movie in the second viewing. Even though I knew where most of the scares took place and what would happen to a certain degree, the fact that it still managed to give me the major creeps and keep me on my toes the whole time is just downright remarkable for a repeat viewing (there was only one thing different from the first version I saw and it was the last scene). Adding to that, I liked Signs more the second time than the first and part of it was due to an added scene at the conclusion which wasn't attached when I originally saw it, and it added much needed substance to the resolution.

Also, this time I found Gibson and Pheonix to be absolutely awesome in their performances, which can be a result of my eyes noticing different aspects the first time (something that can occur with these types of movies in multiple viewings). And considering I knew what was happening, I was able to invest more of my interest and care into Gibson's faith issues and items I didn't necessarily notice the first time due to my mind roaming with possibilities of where the story was going. Having said that, Signs is closer to an A+ than it ever has been on my rating scale, with one element withholding it back that didn't really bother me the first time, but I found it a little unneeded (treated the audience as if they didn't remember) this time around, thus keeping it from receiving the full status. Twice already and I'll likely see it once or twice more for others who need to go (with my two friends wanting to go again).

Until next time...

- Theater Pic. -