Am I Missing Something?

A lot of fun.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The Eubanks' "The Signal" plays with its audience in ways acceptable and (mostly) unacceptable. It's dressed up in quite a slick way, with some natural beauty, an interesting-ish "who is the mystery hacker?" start-point, some reasonable looking hi-tech and so on; and it also mixes normal film storytelling with "found footage". But it somehow finds time for an entirely irrelevant first mini-scene, and indeed, though it's not exactly lengthy at 93 minutes including credits, a viewer not possessed with the patience of Job is going to find the fast-forward button a VERY tempting option. Truly speaking, there is 15 minutes of content here and no amount of special effects or portentous dialogue can disguise the fact that we're left ENDLESSLY hoping for enlightenment and spectacular plot development that does come a little bit in fact ... but by the time it does we've already given up much or most of any hope with which we may have come to or started the film.Ironically, against that background, we are never fully shown what is going on here, while our characters are forgettable in the extreme. Laurence Fishburne's is the best-known face, but his unwillingness to really help or be nice is EVEN MORE tiresome for the audience than it is for the characters.No spoilers on plot here at all, and somewhere down the line "The Signal" may indeed have an interesting SHORT story to tell. It might conceivably be described as "cult" sci fi - but to be a member of that cult you're going to need have no more-pressing alternative engagements of any kind whatsoever...

Its premise is simple enough... some college computer nerds try to track down a hacker that nearly gets them expelled. And the adventure begins!Its a very linear plot. Easy to follow. The Brenton Thwaites (sp)? character (Nick) is the protagonist, but he tends to reach a bit too much and sort-of overacts the protagonist archetype - becoming nearly unlikable. But his stubbornness with the role actually works to his advantage when viewing the film in its entirety.For Lawrence Fishbourne, this role is old-hat. He's been playing this character since "the Matrix." Speaking of that movie... there are some parallels to be found in here. The rest of the cast are mostly mannequins - the typical GF, the best buddy, some quirky locals, etc. The settings are pretty standard, but the editing and effects are well done and the ending will surprise you.

Possibly my favorite movie. Visually and audibly stunning. Blows my mind every time I watch it. Beautiful and amazing. Also, Beau Knapp may be one of the most underrated actors of his generation.

In the wake of the latest releases from Netflix (ok, there are a couple that were ok), it's good to get back to an "Indie" world where everyone is actually trying to create, instead of "banging out another one". Well done.