TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: i was anxious to see this for a long time .
a friend of mine recommended this to me because he has a crush on neve campbell , and he wanted to prove that she 's as hot as he thinks he is .
he proved it for me all right , but
the reasons i enjoy this film go way beyond that .
scream treads on familar ground , horror movie with , as star neve campbell puts it , " some stupid killer stalking some big breasted girl who ca n't act who 's always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door .
"
it 's very familar , your typical horror film .
so why , you may ask after watching it , does it seem so new and original ? because it treats itself as if it has n't been done before , and thus the viewer is disilusioned into believing that it is not old , familar tired stuff .
this raises another question : how does it do this ?
simple : the characters .
they 're not your typical stupid horror film victims who do n't know what the hell to do when being chased by a guy in a ski mask and a machette .
they are horror fans , they know how stuff happens in a horror movie , they know what to do and what not to do , and that makes it scary , and even funny at certain times .
you can tell this just by watching the opening scene where casey becker ( drew barrymore ) is making popcorn , getting ready to watch a video , and some guy who sounds like a killer calls her up to play a game with her that involves horror movie triva that , if she gets it wrong , will get her and her boyfriend killed .
she knows what to answer when he asks her horror film questions , she just ca n't answer his final question , " what door am i at ? " and that gets her killed .
that scene works because in a normal horror film , half the things that happen in that scene would never happen .
the plot is typical horror stuff : sidney prescott ( an impressive neve campbell ) , an attractive young high school student who 's mother was killed a year ago tommorrow , is being stalked by a killer who 's previously murdered one of her classmates ( casey , naturally ) , and everybody in this small , california town is a suspect , including sidney 's boyfriend , billy loomis .
but as i said before , these people know how horror movies work , and that 's what makes it so appealing .
that and the references to horror movies , like when casey says , " the first ( nightmare on elm street ) was scary , but the rest sucked .
" which is obviously director wes craven ( who does a good job of poking fun of the genre that made him a legend ) patting himself on the back as he directed the first nightmare movie and none of the others , and when tatum , sidney 's friend , mentions the director , wes carpenter , which is obviously an homage by writer kevin williamson to not only craven , but also director john carpenter .
the cast is well chosen , neve campbell pulls off a good heroine
( and unlike most horror film heroines , she * can * act ) , drew barrymore does a good janet leigh impression for what little time she has in the film , and david arquette is impressive .
also good
( and funny ) in his role is henry winkler ( " the fonz " )
as the school principal .
i took half a point off for the unnecessary ( albeit limited ) appearance by friends ' courteney cox as reporter , gail edwards , sidney 's rival because she covered her mother 's disappearance .
i hate that show
, i hate those actors .
they 're untalented , overexposed , and overpaid , imho , and i would think wes craven is smart enough to know those actors are overexposed enough , but i suppose he is n't .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: note : ordinarily , moviereviews .
org will not give away any critical plot points of a film that could be interpreted as " spoilers . " however , being that music of the heart is based on a true story and that moviereviews .
org feels the film can not be properly credited without such revelations , plot giveaways will appear in the following review .
if this bothers you , please note the 3 star rating of the film and stop reading now .
"
what does it take to play carnegie hall ?
practice .
"
it takes two hours for music of the heart to " play carnegie hall , " both figuratively and literally .
like the children it portrays , the movie starts from the dark realms of awful cinema and works its way up to a show - stopping performance at the legendary concert hall .
roberta guaspari ( academy award winner meryl streep ) has two kids , a husband who left her and 50 violins she bought from a small shop in the mediterranean .
her life desperately needs a jump start and gets one when she meets a man who introduces her to a job as a music teacher at an east harlem elementary school .
she soon finds her job is on the rocks as the men in her life continue to rotate through revolving doors .
that is the pattern - like plot of this production .
ultimately , the film chooses a zero - sum answer to these problems and finds her music career at an all - time high when the men in her life finally vanish .
the first hour of music of the heart is rather painful .
roberta 's character lacks development and consequently seems to be flat .
also lacking depth is the film 's " bad guy , " a narrow - minded music teacher ( josh pais ) who rejects roberta out of principle ( the movie never explains exactly which principle that is ) and conveniently comes and goes from the plot according to when it might be dramatic to have a villain around .
the next 15 minutes of the film are mediocre .
they are highlighted by one child 's return to roberta 's class ( coming after the great old hollywood scene where he explains be ca n't be around anymore because " my mom said . . . " ) and a glowing concert .
not knowing the running time , you may expect the credits to role at this point .
but they do n't .
instead the film uses the next 45 minutes to finish its journey from bad to mediocre to excellent .
director wes craven , known for his works of horror , uses some old sentimental tricks to get the audience tearing .
one romantic break up scene is highlighted by the classic
" but . . .
last night . . .
" and roberta 's two children also have textbook conflicts with their single mother regarding their father 's absence .
the city of harlem plays a strong role in the movie .
roberta 's mother is initially reluctant to see her daughter move to that part of town and the film does nothing to combat that stereotype .
the noise tracks for these scenes are dominated by sirens ; predictably one of roberta 's students is gunned down and killed off screen .
one thing the film does lack is subtlety .
the fact that a little boy was playing " we shall overcome " on his violin after the aforementioned shooting was a cute and discreet reference .
the fact that the entire orchestra begins to play it over and over soon after is an overdone reference that shows how little credit he gives the audience .
( of course , in horror films the foreshadowing and between - the - line moments are meant to be overdone , so perhaps he too is just learning to play the game . )
even with all its flaws , music of the heart is a beautiful film .
that is not an excuse for the movie 's poor beginning .
but as i watched the scenes in carnegie hall , i thought of some of the great acts that have taken that stage .
in december of 1979 a comedian named andy kaufman put on a show that will forever be remembered as one of the most original in theatre history .
the performance included a dead - on elvis impression , robin williams in disguise and a moment at the end when kaufman announced he would take the whole audience out for milk and cookies .
so , how did this comic genius choose to open the show of his life ?
he had a character named tony clifton take the stage for the sole purpose of irritating and angering the audience .
perhaps it is okay for music of the heart to start off rusty because just as kaufman had santa 's favorite food ,
this movie has an amazing finale .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: the seasoned capt .
dudley smith
( james cromwell ) questions his new protege , ed exley ( guy pearce ) about his political views when it comes to police work .
"
would you plant evidence to get a conviction if you knew the person to be guilty ?
would you shoot a man in the back if you knew that it was the only way to make sure he got what he deserved ?
" exley , squeaky clean , innocent , and pent with the desire to perform his new duties with integrity and honesty quickly answers with a pointed ' no . ' stunned , smith pleads ,
" then , for the love of god , do n't be a detective .
"
la confidential is a dandy piece of filmmaking
that brings us back to the classic times of hollywood in the 50s .
organized crime was the biggest concern , corruption existed everywhere , and every cop had his own way of getting the job done .
there was " hollywood " jack vincennes ( kevin spacey ) who gets most of his information from the editor of a sleazy tell - all / show - all tabloid , sid hudgeons ( danny devito ) .
sporting dark sunglasses and a white sports coat , he is n't afraid to flash his tinseltown style .
detective bud white ( russell crowe ) has only a narrow - minded view of the law , and he uses excessive force to exact his unique kind of interrogation and brutal justice .
and then there is golden boy exley , wide - eyed and ambitious but extremely naive .
a horrible multiple murder begins to draw these three men together , each of whom become inexorably connected in their search for truth , action , and personal vindication .
almost immediately , an arrest is made .
but something does n't seem quite right .
new developments become sinuous as the story begins to draw us deeper into the labyrinth of corruption and crime within the department .
suspicion and questions begin to mount .
odd alliances are created .
and as layers of the truth become revealed , the story grows more complex and intriguing by the moment .
when the mystery expands , we see other seemingly guilty characters enter the lives of these three cops , including a high - priced hooker ( kim basinger ) and a shady millionaire ( david strathairn ) .
all of the characters ' levels of involvement are not immediately clear .
we watch with riveted fascination to learn more about why they are there and their stake in the case .
we sense a cross - pollination of clues that brings us , the audience , closer to the truth .
we hope that the three detectives can throw away their spite for one another and can pull their resources together in order to untangle the intricately created web of mystery .
absorbing and affecting , this movie has all the necessary ingredients to create a terrific gourmet serving of film noir .
it boasts mysterious figures in control , double - crosses , hard information from sleazy sources , dirty politicians , corrupt cops , haunting women , and hard - nosed cops experiencing moral ambiguity .
the underlying mystery is compelling .
the look and feel of the movie is gorgeous .
the entire cast is crisp and wonderful to watch
( i would n't be surprised if cromwell received an oscar nomination for his performance ) . and ,
the dialogue is rich and memorable .
the best line of the movie is spoken when a key player dispenses advice to one of the detectives unsure of what to do .
" do n't start trying to do the right thing , boy - o , " says he .
"
you have n't had the practice . "
" l . a . confidential ' ' triumphantly achieves the rare gift of complexity and coherence while satisfying our desire for a good old - fashioned movie .

SOLUTION:
P