In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

Q: breakdown is an moderately entertaining , if underwhelming , thriller .
kurt russell and kathleen quinlan play couple jeff and amy taylor , taking the scenic route to california through redneck country .
however , while in the middle of nowhere , their jeep decides to break down , leaving them stranded .
a friendly truck driver , warren ( walsh ) , offers to give them a lift to town .
although jeff rejects the offer ( he wants to stay with his car ) , amy agrees , hops into warren 's lorry , and promptly disappears .
jeff wonders where the hell she is , and when he later catches up with warren and warren says he has never seen amy in his life , the plot thickens and jeff goes on a chase to find his wife .
although comparisons can be made with this film to deliverance ( 1972 ) and the vanishing ( 1993 ) plot wise , the latter two are far superior character and script wise .
kurt russell is o .
k as jeff , although he can seemingly only pull of one expression , which is angry .
throughout the whole film , he looks angry ( or just pissed off . )
quinlan is o .
k again , but again
she can only pull off one expression , which is looking dorky .
throughout the whole film , she looks dorky .
j .
t walsh ( who , sadly , recently passed away ) is fine as warren ( who we soon find out is a kidnapper )
although his actual character is pretty weak , and not really menacing enough .
the supporting cast do their best aswell , with rex linn as a doubting sheriff , and the other kidnappers .
the story , written by first - timer jonathan mostow ( who also directs ) is o .
k ,
if surprisingly familiar and sometimes extraordinarily stupid .
some of the things the characters do in this movie is beyond the bounds of idiocy .
there are some flaws with the plot also , as the characters do the complete opposite to logical ( presumably to keep the story ' exciting ' ) and also the fact that the story just is n't strong enough to sustain the audience 's attention .
the picture moves along very slowly also .
it almost threatens to drop dead .
the picture does pick up towards the end , but by then it 's too late .
mostow directs the action sequences well enough , however .
the film does n't really come to a satisfying conclusion , either .
the ending tries to be bleak , but just comes off annoying
.
breakdown could of been a far more enjoyable picture
had it had a stronger cast and director .
instead , it just turns out to be merely average .
a missed opportunity .
overall rating= review by david wilcock

A: N
****
Q: in my opinion , a movie reviewer 's most important task is to offer an explanation for his opinion .
but with soul survivors , i 'm so full of critical rage that this review is liable to turn into a venomous , uncontrollable rant , obligations damned .
however , protocol forces me to do otherwise .
soul survivors tells the story of four college - bound friends : cassandra ( melissa sagemiller ) is sweet and innocent .
party girl annabel ( eliza dushku of bring it on ) is dating world - weary harvard student matt ( wes bentley ) .
matt still has feelings for cassie , who is now dating sean ( casey affleck ) .
driving back from a creepy , gothic party , the quartet gets into a horrific car crash .
sean dies , leaving cassie crestfallen and guilty , made worse because sean saw matt kiss cassie just minutes after sean revealed his love for her . as cassie mopes through her classes , she sees the ghost of sean all over the place , urging her to follow him .
along with being plagued by other ghastly visions , cassie is also followed by thugs from that strange party .
annabel and matt try calming her down , but no one shares cass 's visions .
she has to figure out this purgatory all by herself .
rarely have i seen a director
so thoroughly mishandle material .
in his directorial debut , steve carpenter does nothing to provoke the audience into feeling any emotion .
when the movie 's camerawork is n't pedestrian , it 's clich ?
d .
carpenter 's need for close - ups , his camera following sagemiller from behind , drain the movie of any anticipation .
we already know what to look for , so why should we be surprised ? and the sense of scary atmosphere , which was recently done so well in the others , is nowhere to be found here .
carpenter 's script relies on random twists and turns with a minimum of logic and loads of laziness .
this is a movie where the ending features one character providing an explanation about the plot to another character , which is one of the lamest screenwriting devices around .
the second lamest device , of course , is the , " oh , it was all a dream " resolution . and guess what ?
this movie has both ! not that the main body of the film , which has sagemiller constantly running in fear or having a nervous breakdown , is anything worthwhile .
since there 's no captivating dialogue , no character chemistry exists anywhere .
that 's a huge problem , since the four main characters are supposed to be couples .
carpenter ca n't even get the smutty scenes right , which are becoming more prevalent in pg-13 movies like bring it on and get over it .
[ the film was recently re - cut from an r rating to get more kids in the seats .
-ed . ]
when sagemiller and dushku dance together at a club , he rarely shows them in a full shot and he never keeps the camera on them for longer than a second before relating to some michael bay - style quick cuts .
and when sagemiller and dushku take a shower together after getting covered in paint , they 're fully clothed . regardless ,
any sexiness in that scene is undercut by its stupidity .
why would n't they wash the clothes in the sink or in the washing machine ?
why would they shower in their clothes ?
what if they were n't covered in latex paint ?
the cast , which will see better material in the future , would be wise to leave this one off their resumes .
i felt sorry for affleck , who i 've liked in other movies , and bentley , who was great in american beauty .
dushku , who possesses an alluring femme fetale quality , has got to stop taking roles belonging to rose mcgowan .
as for sagemiller ( star of the aforementioned get over it ) , i want to see her in a movie where she plays a person , and not an object for gawking .
and i 'm not even getting into luke wilson 's role as a priest .
at least he 's friends with wes anderson .
bottom line : soul survivors is so awful i feel compelled to knock on doors and warn people about it .

A: N
****
Q: the 1990s produced two brilliant science fiction films .
one was _ gattaca _ .
the other was _ the thirteenth floor
_ .
just as _ gattaca _ was overshadowed by the mighty _ titanic _ ,
_ the thirteenth floor
_ was relegated to obscurity by _ the matrix
_ .
however , _ the thirteeth floor _ , though it deals with similar themes , is a much better movie than the frenetic , childish and improbable _ matrix
_ .
a cutting edge computer scientist , hannon fuller ( played by the charming armin mueller - stahl ) , is murdered .
his associate , douglas hall , ( craig bierko ) apparently framed and suspected by the police , enters into the simulated world they have created in order to unravel the mystery .
along the way a beautiful blonde ( gretchen mol ) , more bodies , and a deepening mystery about simulated worlds complicate the picture .
_ the thirteenth floor
_ unfolds slowly and telegraphs its punches , choosing to elicit the more complex emotional response of empathy and anticipation rather than the cheap one of mere surprise .
the result is a movie that is a failure from two conventional points of view .
first , its plot revelations can be foreseen if one has carefully followed its complex storyline .
second and more seriously , it demands that its audience think and feel .
no wonder it fell through the cracks .
done in film noir style as a murder mystery , this is a relatively deep movie that functions on several levels .
many audiences will simply be bewildered by it , rather than engaged , which is a shame , because this movie amply repays a little emotional and intellectual investment .
i recommend a second viewing simply to get the flavor of the frequent ironic foreshadowing in the opening parts of the movie .
despite its philosophical challenges , _ the thirteenth floor _ derives its emotional force from the love story between jane fuller ( mol ) and douglas hall ( bierko ) , as well as the close friendship between douglas hall and hannon fuller .
in that sense it is more akin to _ gattaca _ than _
the matrix _ , which , for all of its cute philosophical byplay , is an adolescent movie with no emotional depth whatsoever .
the moment when jane fuller confesses her love for douglas hall is at once satisfying , wrenching and intellectually challenging .
in its final moments the film even takes on itself , when david , jane 's husband , who has come to enjoy killing , accuses her of being the sick one .
although there is a victory for the leading characters , this resolution suggests a disturbing element of fantasy in jane , and thus a deep - seated character flaw .
in fact , hannon fuller 's activities in the simulated world , the behavior of jane 's husband , and the effects of entering the simulation on douglas hall all hint at similar issues with those characters .
this is not a film of good people beset from without by great evil .
the tragedy is not in their stars , but in themselves .
the major actors , all of whom are required to play two or even three roles , perform extremely well .
bierko , who will be familiar as the psycho from _ the long kiss goodnight _ , is outstanding .
d'onofrio as whitney , who plays a pivotal role in support , also turns in a good performance .
the lovely gretchen mol , whose elegance , integrity , and determination suggest bergman in _ casablanca _ , does a wonderful job .
her voice , however , lacks the necessary weight at times .
this could be because she was given the worst lines in a movie whose major weakness is the script .
some minor flaws , hairline cracks in fine porcelain , appear in places .
there are one or two instances of jerky editing .
the script takes the edge off the film 's climaxes .
the atmosphere becomes too claustrophobic at times ( yet , there is a clue there too ) .
one wonders if even after two decades , _ blade runner _ is still casting its long shadow over sci - fi films .
one can see a group of suits in their suite , waving their hands imperiously at directors like the emperor in _ amadeus _ : " make it more
like_blade runner _ , you know , dark and rainy .
"
_ the thirteen floor _ is that rare exception among hollywood movies : a , rich , emotionally satisfying , intelligent sci - fi movie .
and yet , ultimately , it proves the suits right .
for when good sci - fi is made , where is the sf community turning out in droves to see it ? if we do n't support great sf , who will ?

A:
P
****