It's been a year or two since I've seen Signs, so my memory is probably not to be trusted, but I'd say there's very little resemblance beyond the superficial: They're both alien invasion stories; they're both also 'dysfunctional father' stories; they share, in the early minutes, the device of using fragments of TV news reports to inculcate in their audiences a feeling of frustrated confusion.

I saw WotW yesterday afternoon -- after having seen Saving Private Ryan for the first time ever (on TNT, Saturday night). If anyone reading this has not yet seen WotW, consider it as almost two hours of the same intensity as the stand to hold the bridge in SPR, with little time to relax.

I'll say only two other things about WotW. The first is: it really is the kind of movie that makes you want to avoid saying much of anything that might become a spoiler. Beyond that: I was pleased to see so many more elements from the H.G. Wells novel incorporated than in the 1953 film, and yet surprised (not unpleasantly) to see many images from the earlier adaptation.

But I probably shouldn't have been surprised... we all know Spielberg's a fan, and not shy about paying homage.