TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: the camera zooms in incredibly close .
it focuses on the closed eyes of a person presumed dead .
all of a sudden , with a thunderous sound effect and an eerie sounding musical pulse , his eyelids open .
the camera zooms in incredibly close .
it focuses on one of the characters desperately running for her life .
then , with a thunderous sound effect and an eerie sounding musical pulse , she bumps into the killer .
the camera zooms in incredibly close .
it focuses on a door from where seemingly strange sounds emanate .
all of a sudden , with a thunderous sound effect and an eerie sounding musical pulse , the doors swing open to reveal what 's inside .
close - up thrill - shots such as these seemed to elicit more laughter from the audience rather than genuine fear , which is a pretty good sign that you 're not watching the thriller that the director had originally envisioned
.
rather , you adopt the opinion that the characters are so goofy and
so unaware of the trouble that they 're in , that you stop caring
about who lives , who dies and where the story goes .
instead , you become more interested in how the characters get killed off .
the four young teenagers who are the potential sacrificial lambs for this movie are helen and barry and julie and ray - two couples and dear friends to one another .
during the summer just after high school graduation , they take a fateful drive down a dark mountain highway .
suddenly , without warning , their car hits someone whom the teens presume was killed as a result of that collision . fearing jail time and possible manslaughter charges if they confess , they instead decide to dump the body into the ocean and make a pact never to discuss the episode again .
a year goes by and things among the four friends begin to change .
relationships fizzle , future dreams crumble , and attitudes change .
but , they can not forget what they did .
and apparently , neither can someone else .
someone begins to send letters to all four of the teens with the frightening message : " i know what you did last summer .
"
the letter - writer ( a figure in a rubber slicker wielding a large metal hook ) soon makes his presence known and begins to hunt down the four teens .
it 's now up to the four of them to try to figure out who the killer is before it 's too late .
while this movie has some nice visually eerie effects , too much of it 's impact had to be generated with extreme close - ups , while the level of suspense was choppy at best .
there is so much more that this movie could have been , but decided to give us nothing but cheap thrills .
it could have been a clever whodunit , but discovering who ultimately was the killer made me just shrug my shoulders .
it could have explored the changed friendships after a year of adulthood , but seemed to only include that aspect to add 15 more minutes to the film .
it could have given us smarter characters who knew that anytime you 're alone and you see shadowy figures moving about , you do n't walk towards them yelling " hello " .
once you yell " hello " , you can expect an extreme close - up , a thunderous sound effect and an eerie sounding musical pulse .
it 's difficult to be in suspense when you know what 's about to happen .
the only redeeming aspect of the movie is that i now have a neat idea for a halloween costume , but i 'm not sure if the local costume store sells rubber slickers and hooks .
the horror that i experienced from this film is realizing that i actually went to see it .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: of all the films i 've come to see this year ( 1997 ) , i think only chasing amy had as many " laugh - out - loud " moments
.
i 'm not saying that i was hysterically rolling on the floor while watching waiting for guffman , but my mouth burst open with at least a delighted guffaw at least every couple of minutes .
and i think i 'm the kind of person that laughs least at movies , even when i find them funny .
usually all you can get out of me is a warm smile , so to get me laughing out loud , and so frequently , is a really good sign .
waiting for guffman is the story of blaine , missouri , a town celebrating
it 's 150th anniversary , and the musical that is being put on for the big event .
the play is being directed by corky st .
clair ( christopher guest , who also wrote and directed this " mockumentary " as well as co - writing several original musical numbers ) , the effeminate broadway hopeful determined to make this production a smashing success .
teaming up with st .
clair are a handful of blaine residents : allan pearl ( eugene levy ) , a jewish dentist who spent his youth not as the class clown , but sitting right next to him and studying him , ron and sheila albertson ( fred willard and catherine o'hara respectively ) , a married couple setting their sights on hollywood , libby mae brown ( parker posey ) , the dense but fun queen of the dairy queen , and a few others .
everybody in this movie is brilliant , absolutely so , but levy particularly stands out .
these characters are portrayed with such saddening realism that you ca n't help but love them , as pathetic as they really are .
although levy stands out , guest , willard , o'hara , and posey are all wonderful and definitely should be commended for their performances ! if there was an oscar for an ensemble performance , this is the group that should sweep it .
some humor was a tad uneven from the rest of the film and , even after starting very humorously , they nearly lost me with the tad - too - long intros . as delightful as it was , it began to get monotonous .
thankfully , just as your about to say " ok , maybe i should run to the bathroom " , they finally get past the intros and onto the rehearsal scenes .
like a play , this film gives a very three - act feel , the intros ( funny , but almost too long ) , the rehearsals ( even funnier ) , and finally , the actual performance of the play ( excellent ! ) .
like i said , each character really shines , even when done with a subtle approach .
you ca n't really watch these people and not think they 're real people !
even they way they talk , with awkward pauses and stumbles that do n't feel staged at all , you feel like you 're watching a real , albeit funny , documentary .
and even with silly lyrics , the original songs when the play is finally put on , are absolutely wonderful !
as a word of note , despite it 's " r " rating , waiting for guffman is really quite clean .
this rating came from a brief , very brief use of the grand - daddy of all swear words .
even if that really bothers you , let me say that it 's not presented in a vulgar , cheap - laugh way .
it 's actually quite humorous and tastefully done !
it might be hard knowing what to expect with waiting for guffman .
it 's silly humor , but it 's also so dry , subtle , and intelligently done that you 're not insulted by it .
it 's always really nice to see a comedy that is n't all slapstick and vulgarity , and this film is one of the better ones of the better ones !
i 'd recommend seeing it !

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: every once in a while , when an exceptional family film comes along , i will attempt to champion it by challenging parents to put their money where their mouths have been ; with all the hubbub over the lack of films suitable for children , it is remarkable how many non - disney films disappear in a couple of weeks .
now i see that in so doing , i have unfairly ghettoized these films .
so i am issuing my challenge not just to parents , but to anyone who wants to support smart , funny , energetic film - making : see matilda .
see it in a theater , rather than shrugging and waiting for it on video .
see
the best film i have seen in 1996 .
not the best children 's film .
. .
the best film . period .
based on a story by roald dahl , it tells of young matilda wormwood ( mara wilson ) , an extraordinarily bright girl whose great misfortune it is to have a pair of deeply stupid parents : harry ( danny devito ) , a crooked used car salesman ; and zinnia ( rhea perlman ) , a simple - minded bingo addict .
the wormwoods barely notice matilda exists , and when they do , it is only to scold her for spending too much time reading books .
when they finally do send her to school , it is to crunchem hall , a bleak place run by cruel , child - hating miss agatha trunchbull ( pam ferris ) .
but things begin to look up for matilda when she discovers a sympathetic teacher , miss honey ( embeth davidtz ) , who nurtures her natural inquisitiveness .
matilda also discovers another special talent -- the ability to move things with her mind -- which allows her to help herself and miss honey to overcome miss trunchbull 's cruelty .
it was this spring 's james and the giant peach which inspired me to note that the best and most lasting tales for children tended to have more than a hint of darkness to them , and you can bet that the roald dahl responsible for the gleeful ghoulishness of james and willy wonka and the chocolate factory has more of the same in store with matilda .
and just as james benefited from the dark sensibilities of henry selick and tim burton , matilda soars on the cock - eyed direction of danny devito .
devito made black humor a key element in throw momma from the train and the war of the roses , and he contributes some memorable images .
in one scene , an unfortunate girl is made an example of by miss trunchbull when she is picked up by her pig - tails and flung through the air like a throwing hammer ; later , an overweight boy is forced to eat an entire massive cake after he is caught stealing a dessert .
matilda is just twisted enough to be a perfect fairy tale .
it is also characteristic of the best children 's tales that they manage to teach lessons in such a way that children almost do n't realize that they are learning them .
there is a hilarious moment when matilda 's television - addicted father snatches away the book she is reading ( in a wicked joke , he thinks _
moby dick _ is pornographic ) and forces her to watch an inane game show ( hosted by jon lovitz ) in which contestants are smeared with adhesive and placed in a booth filled with cash blowing around .
matilda is a story which promotes the value of intellectual curiosity over passive entertainment , and it does so while poking holes in that most frustrating of notions for a child -- that because " i 'm big and you 're little
, i 'm right and you 're wrong .
"
more specifically , it has as
its heroine an intelligent , self - confident girl who struggles successfully against other people 's notions of how she should behave .
it is no coincidence that matilda was co - written by robin swicord , who contributed the superb recent adaptation of little women .
finally , matilda has that quality i find rarest and most treasured in family entertainment : it is family entertainment in the truest sense of the word .
devito knows enough to make matilda fast - paced and appealing to children , taking a deliciously nasty performance by pam ferris as miss trunchbull and making it the focal point of some priceless physical comedy , including a great chase through her dark house .
the child actors are winning but never obnoxiously adorable , with mara wilson making matilda a clever and extremely likeable character .
but there are also many , many delights for adults , including my favorite scene in which matilda uses her powers to frighten miss trunchbull by having chalk write on a chalkboard by itself while matilda 's classmates recite in sing - song fashion ; there is also a deadpan cameo by paul reubens as an fbi agent staking out matilda 's father .
i ca n't imagine anyone of any age leaving matilda feeling as though his or her intelligence had been insulted .
matilda is a film which left me glowing with good feeling .
i will see it again , and years from now i will watch it with my children .
and now i will stop , because somewhere near you matilda is about to begin , and there is a seat in that theater you should be in , if you have a child or ever were a child .

SOLUTION:
P