TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: "
the deep end " uses a color palette of rich earth tones surrounded by a vast array of blues .
alluring , attractive blues , but also icy and foreboding .
after taking in their beauty , the eye seeks out the reassuring browns and greens , like a tired swimmer searching for the safety of land .
the production works that way as well ?
it pulls you in initially as a crisp , thoroughly - modern thriller , with clipped exchanges between defiantly non - communicative characters .
but the real draw of the film is the submerged humanity of two key players as " the deep end " gradually reveals the melodramatic core beneath its ironic candy coating .
spoiler alert
: the following reveals the basic storyline .
i believe the plot points are incidental , because the real rewards come in exploring the mindset of the main characters , but still , you should proceed at your own risk .
with her husband tom , a naval officer , often away at sea , margaret hall ( tilda swinton ) holds down the fort , taking care of the children , beau ( jonathan tucker ) , paige ( tamara hope ) , and dylan ( jordon dorrance ) , while her father - in - law jack ( peter donat ) hovers in the background , always watching .
the story opens with margaret leaving the family home in lake tahoe to storm a male strip club in reno .
it seems that beau , her eldest , is having an affair with darby reese ( josh lucas ) , a disreputable sort 12 years
his senior . margaret demands that darby leave her son alone , only to have the man smirk at her and announce he 'll be glad to steer clear of beau ? for $ 5000 .
back at home , she tries to talk about it all with her son , but the kid wo n't even confirm that he 's gay , let alone discuss the issues she has with his boyfriend .
he does , however , get attentive when she reveals darby 's $ 5 , 000 offer , even as he maintains his sullen demeanor .
late in the evening , darby shows up outside , tossing pebbles at beau 's window like a schoolchild .
the two meet by the water at the boathouse , where something important happens .
i wo n't reveal what ; suffice to say we become aware of a significant fact that margaret does not .
all of this happens in the first few minutes of the movie , by the way .
within a day or so , margaret 's life becomes even more complicated when a suave man named alec goran visnjic ) turns up with an explicit videotape documenting the sex life of beau and darby .
he and his associate are willing to destroy the tape ,
once margaret coughs up $ 50 , 000 .
oh , what 's a mother to do ?
end spoilers written , directed and produced by scott mcgehee and david siegel ( " suture " ) , " the deep end " is based on elisabeth sanxay holding 's 1940 's novel , " the blank wall , " which was also the source of the 1949 film , " the reckless moment .
"
i 've neither read the book nor seen the movie , but i understand that the filmmakers changed some details .
in holding 's story , the " scandalous " relationship is between an older man and margaret 's teen - age daughter .
switching the gender makes the tale seem more contemporary , and it also raises questions about margaret 's motives .
many reviews of " the deep end " describe margaret as a mother ferociously protecting her son , but i wonder .
consider this : margaret lives in a meticulously kept upscale home .
her husband is absent most of the time and seems to be regarded as a larger - than - life figure .
her father - in - law is constantly present , almost as if he is monitoring for his son .
and when her husband does call , margaret is careful not to tell him about anything disturbing that is going on with the family .
so is margaret a mother who accepts her son 's sexual orientation and is simply trying to shield the young man from a lover she fears will take advantage of him ?
or is she caretaker of a museum of upper middle class complacency , desperate to maintain the status quo so that everything will be postcard perfect when the old man returns from the sea ?
you sort it out .
regardless , the resonance of " the deep end " comes from two actors .
goran visnjic , best known from the tv drama " er , " is striking as a blackmailer unlike any you 've seen before .
he engages margaret in a mesmerizing dance of protocol , chivalry and simmering eroticism .
but the star of this show , without a doubt , is the remarkable tilda swinton .
watch the shadings , depth , resource , vitality and understated sexuality she gives margaret and try to imagine the film without her .
days after my second viewing of " the deep end , " i can still vividly picture her negotiating with villains , trying to connect with her son and diving into icy blue water .
"
the deep end " is an exceptional film and tilda swinton is the best part of it .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: the job of the film critic is to see a movie and write a review of it that tells you what it 's about and why it 's good or bad .
i feel kind of embarrassed to admit this , but i after having seen " get carter
" i really ca n't tell you what it 's about although i could go on and on about how and why it 's a bad movie .
" get carter " falls into that category of ?
movies that continue to be made for reasons unknown to anyone outside of a hollywood executive board room .
you might call them the " steven seagal / mickey rourke / jean - claude van damme / wesley snipes school of mediocre action / crime thrillers .
"
you know - the potboilers that are heavy on fistfights , shoot - outs and car chases but really light on plot and character development .
they have stories where the so - called hero just keeps running into characters who have some connection to one of the other characters who are all antagonists without a reason for being in the movie other than to give the protagonist someone to fight , chase or shoot at .
sylvester stallone stars as jack carter , a las vegas - based mob enforcer who returns home
* for his brother 's funeral .
he believes his brother ?
richie was " taken out " and did n't die from a dwi accident .
carter 's one of the most cliche bad - asses ever captured on celluloid .
his face alone is pretty intimidating and there 's quite a few scenes in which he leans on both regular citizens and criminal lowlives simply by staring them down and speaking with confidence in his " rambo - on - testosterone - therapy " voice .
stallone 's performance in this movie is so forced and unnatural
he does n't realize he 's mocking himself .
the actual story involves carter 's investigation into his brother richie 's death .
he 's in a town that 's not his
but somehow the local top dogs know him very well .
mickey rourke co - stars as one of these characters , a sort of crime boss who has something to do with running a porno web site and blackmailing a young internet tycoon
( played by alan cummings looking and acting a lot like pee wee herman ) .
there 's also another plot involving richie 's mistress , a secret cd - rom with some convicting and disturbing evidence on it and something terrible involving one of carter 's still - living relatives .
i 'm rolling my eyes
just thinking about trying to critique all this in a way that could be remotely comprehendible .
i could just rip the screenplay to shreds , plus the direction or the editing or the production values but that would require discussion of nearly every scene in order to explain it all .
i do n't like to put spoliers in my reviews either intentionally or accidentally .
yes , " get carter " is just that complicated and complex .
and what 's worse is that it 's not this intricate to make it seem smart like " the usual suspects " for example - just the opposite .
you get the feeling whoever wrote this script
did it in short intervals spaced far apart
and they probably did n't remember what had already happened and did n't figure out how each scene would lead in to the next one or how the major plot points would work towards the climax .
all you really need to know is that most of the film is just scenes of carter tracking down one scumbag or supposed witness after another , asking them what they know , getting information and then realizing that if he was n't a complete idiot he could have figured it out in the first five minutes .
although the supporting characters are equally stupid themselves since they tell him everything which comes back to haunt them in one violent way or another .
making a movie entirely about criminals does n't necessarily mean they have to be unlikable and cliche cutout characters .
mel gibson starred in " payback " a few years ago
that had a story not unlike this one but had such a good screenplay you could n't help
but like him even though he was just as bad a guy as jack carter .
so ultimately " get
carter " fails for pretty much every selling point it has
. carter is not a likable character and you really do n't care if he gets revenge or not .
the action sequences are not at all exciting or original .
the enemies and their massive conspiracy are not threatening at all ( c'mon , you know who 's going to win every brawl and shoot - out and car chase ) .
in the end you do n't feel nearly satisfied with the results .
the filmmakers did a good job in doing everything as unoriginal as possible .
*
the city is never mentioned by name
but i assume it 's seattle since all the cars have washington license plates
and it 's always raining .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: movies like six days , seven nights make me mad because talented people like harrison ford , anne heche , and ivan reitman put a lot of hard work in to a script worth about ten cents .
?
the script was written by michael browning , and he decided that , instead of thinking up new ideas , he 'd rehash a lot of cliches , omit even the slightest bit of character development , and then throw in drug - dealing pirates to provide for a few high - level action sequences and explosions . ?
there are good scripts out there that high - profile actors can make ( see the truman show , for instance ) . ?
six days
, seven nights is simply a waste .
let 's see .
.. we have to get harrison ford and anne heche alone on an island . ?
so , how do we do that ? ?
well , we 'll make her a feisty magazine editor , and we 'll make him a crusty old pilot .
?
but wait , she has to have a fianc ?
e ; that can be david schwimmer .
?
but wait , if she has a fianc ?
e , how will she and harrison ford crash on the island alone ?
?
i know ! ?
they 'll get to their vacation spot , and then she 'll get called back ! ?
yessssss !
?
so , they 'll crash on the island , and that will be funny for about five minutes . ?
shucks .
oh , i 've got it ! ?
we 'll throw in a distracting subplot in which her fianc ?
e has sex with a really attractive woman who acts like a bimbo , and then he can feel guilty . ?
then , when anne heche kisses harrison ford ( they have to kiss , because otherwise nobody will want to see the movie ) , it will be a vindicated action , because her fianc ?
e will already have cheated on her ! ?
then , for no obvious reason , they 'll accidentally run into pirates who try to kill them . ?
oh , yes ! ?
i feel so good about this story . ?
instead of using characterization to propel the events , it will be completely random , and yet totally predictable ! ?
imagine that .
do n't get me wrong --
six days , seven nights is not a boring picture ; ford and heche both do a great job .
?
the sparks fly between them , and so most of browning 's inane dialogue is drowned out by the actors ' sheer force of talent . ?
almost every scene between them has energy that the performers bring to the screen , and i found myself laughing pretty hard . ?
schwimmer is also funny , and manages to milk all of his scenes for whatever he can get . ? and reitman , who has made some good films , at least tries to make things exciting . ?
even though the pirate subplot is profoundly dumb , i was prepared to be pleasantly sidetracked by the action sequences .
it 's
just when i start to think about the story that my contempt for this film surfaces .
?
the picture feels like it 's been hacked to pieces --
i would n't be surprised if five or six inept subplots have been edited out completely . ?
the ones that are here are as bad as they come
( i think i let out a very audible groan when they get the first glimpse of the pirate ships ) , and i 'd just like to shake the producers by the shoulders and scream , " why did you pick this awful script ! ?
"
?
the film is outright stupid , but some of the elements are subtly horrifying .
?
for instance , take the subplot in which the schwimmer character has sex with the bimbo , and then feels really guilty . ?
this is a serious problem in real life , but six days , seven nights reduces any chance of complexity to a weak plot device : ?
his actions are what makes it okay for heche to kiss ford . ? in a script that lacks even a glimpse of intelligent subtlety , i find it odd that such a strangely insulting device ended up in the story .
this is summer movie season , but that does n't mean our movies have to be dumb . ?
1998 so far has been one of the worst years in recent memory for summer blockbusters . ?
when i was in line for six days , seven nights , i heard the woman in front of me ask for " two tickets to that new harrison ford movie .
"
?
why did n't she know the name of the film ? ?
i suppose she just did n't care .
?
what bothers me even more is that the people who make these big - budget pictures do n't realize that their films are becoming parodies of themselves . ?
good actors should sign to good scripts , and if hollywood insists on making flicks to rake in cash , they least they could do is assume that we 'd like to spend our money on a story worth more than ten cents .

SOLUTION:
N