TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: a common complaint amongst film critics is " why are n't there more literate scripts available ?
" quiz show gives signs of hope that the art of writing is n't dead in hollywood and that we need not only look to independent films for thoughtful content .
paul attanasio 's script takes what could have been a tepid thriller ( the quiz show scandals of the late 50s ) and delivers a telling parable about the emptiness of the post war american dream and the golden bubble that surrounds and protects tv networks and their sponsors .
the film is riddled with telling symbols
( e . g .
a ' 58 chrysler , a radio announcement of sputnik ) but is never heavy handed . deft direction by robert redford and keen performances by ralph fiennes , john turturro and rob morrow
dovetail perfectly with the carefully honed script .
redford departs from the usually overlight , " cable tv quality " sets and camera work so common in recent 20th century period pieces .
quiz show
perfectly captures the colors and textures of the eisenhower years .
although i was only 4 years old when the " twenty one " scandal broke , enough of the 50s icons survived throughout my childhood for me to recognize the authenticity of redford 's almost tangible palette .
from plastic covered furniture to carefully coifed contestants , the images ring true from that era of rampant consumerism , of a generation that had gone through 15 years of depression and world war without " disposable income , " before the manifestation of its american dream .
the film deftly weaves several themes together , from assimilation and exclusion of jews from " the good life , " to the lengths that a scion of a literary family will go to to match his father 's fame .
though the 50s audience that is " rocked " by this scandal may initially seem naive to us , they should appear all too familiar , with our current national passion for the rise and fall of icons like michael jackson or tonya harding .
charles van doren and herbie stemple were the overnight mega celebrities of their day .
the tv audience is almost a fourth main character , always at the center of the decisions being made on their behalf .
at the film 's end , the credits roll past slow motion footage of that same 50s tv audience , mindlessly laughing at some piece of fluff .
like the distorted mirror that captured a blurred swastika at the end of cabaret , this " mirror " may reflect an image we 're not all that comfortable with .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: synopsis : the president of a company wants to test his self - appointed successor , who 's psychotic , and thinks it 's a great idea to spend a week with him and their wives in an isolated cabin a hundred miles from civilization with no dependable transportation or means of communication after a heavy snowfall .
comments : tracks of a killer had a couple of strikes against it before i even began watching it .
strike one was the fact that someone had scrawled the word garbage on the videotape 's sticker in black marker
( not typically a good sign when you rent a film ) .
strike two came while the previews played .
did you ever get a sinking premonition about a movie 's quality ( or lack thereof ) while watching the trailers that come before it ?
well , the cheesy films being advertised before tracks of a killer were films that no one has ever heard of starring people no one knows , and they all looked bad ( definately not a good sign ) .
tracks of a killer itself completed the strikeout .
about the only positive thing this film had going for it was the fact that it sports some nice scenery .
to be fair , the first half - hour or so promises at least a watchable thriller .
wolf larson , who bears more than a passing resemblance to hugh grant , adequately plays the underling obviously set up as the killer of the film 's title .
james brolin and kelly lebrock seem equally adequate as the loving couple larson will later threaten .
brolin 's character , for some inexplicable reason , thinks its a great idea to spend some time in a cabin , practically isolated , with lebrock and larson , whom he 's decided to test for the week before giving him full control of his company .
by the time the characters arrive at the cabin , this film begins to become tedious .
apparently , brolin 's successor 's test involves chopping wood for the fireplace and skiing , which do n't seem like attributes necessary to run a business in the city .
but , then again , what do i know about business ?
i do think , though , that they should have invested in some better furniture for the cabin ; its beds and closets have a habit of just breaking at the slightest touch .
larson 's character accidently kills his own wife rather than the couple he wants to kill .
this leaves the movie with an hour to go and only three characters , which really is n't enough to sustain it .
the film 's writer must have taken a cue from stephen king , as scenes from tracks of a killer seem lifted out of misery and gerald 's game .
larson and lebrock fight and torture each other ( the tables get turned a couple of times ) while brolin tramps around in the snow looking for help .
some old guy 's around too
, just so the killer can add to his body count without killing the couple , who everyone knows will be alive at the end of the film .
the old guy , however , miraculously survives his first death and appears later to be killed again by the killer in a scene
so ludicrous it 's worthy of a chuckle or two
.
outside of that chuckle , unfortunately , tracks of a killer will just bore you as the obvious plot is drawn out ad infinitum and the actors , for some reason , become increasing obnoxious . if you 're in a video store and thinking about renting this turkey , do n't . make tracks to a far superior suspense film , like misery .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: while alex browning ( devon sawa ) waits at jfk to leave for a school trip to paris , bad omens seem to surround him . as soon as he buckles into the plane , he has a vision of the plane exploding seconds after take - off .
when the vision begins to come true , alex bolts for the door , dragging several students and a teacher in his wake .
the plane takes off without them and explodes just as alex predicted .
he becomes an object of fear and suspicion among the community , and the tension only increases as the survivors begin to die .
alex and another survivor , clear rivers ( ali larter ) , investigate the suspicious " suicide " of a friend , and a mortician ( tony " candyman " todd ) clues them in to the truth : alex interrupted death 's design by saving people who should have died in the explosion , and death will want to claim its rightful victims .
in order to save himself and the others , alex will have to figure out death 's new plan and thwart it .
of the countless horror films that have competed for a piece of the " scream " audience , " final destination " is the best so far .
talented young screenwriter jeffrey reddick offers a fresh variation
on a familiar formula .
we 've seen hundreds of movies where a group of teenagers are murdered one - by - one by a faceless slasher , but reddick cuts out the hockey - masked middle - man and makes the villain death itself .
first - time feature director james wong made the most of that premise .
every scene is permeated with creepiness and foreboding , reminding us that death is everywhere , can come at anytime .
everyday objects and events vibrate with menace .
the most amusing harbinger of doom : john denver 's " rocky mountain high , " which is played several times in the movie before someone dies .
( the link is that denver died in a plane crash , and the song includes a line about fire in the sky . ) the performances are stronger than those usually elicited by teen horror .
devon sawa , who previously starred in another horror flick , " idle hands , " gives a frantic and convincing lead performance .
kerr smith is carter hogan , an antagonist of alex 's whose quick temper causes him to pulled off the fatal plane .
smith plays carter as filled with anger and confusion that constantly threatens to bubble over into violence .
seann william scott , who 's also in theaters right now in " road trip , " plays the somewhat dim billy hitchcock and provides a needed counterpoint to the intensity of alex and carter .
tony todd 's one - scene cameo is delicious but all too brief .
bottom line :
watchable
teen fright flicks are few and far between , but this destination is worth visiting .

SOLUTION:
P