TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: in recent years , harrison ford has been such a grave screen presence , scowling through the likes of tom clancy 's jack ryan series , _ the_fugitive _ , and last year 's smash _ air_force_one _ , that one wonders if the rogue charm that made him such a superstar had been completely drained from his system .
apparently , it was just lying dormant .
with ivan reitman 's enjoyable romantic comedy / adventure
_ six_days ,
_ seven_nights _ ,
the lovable scoundrel is back , giving audiences a fresh reminder of why ford is one of the most enduring and popular modern screen icons .
ford plays quinn harris , a carefree and slightly slobby ( endearingly so ) pilot in the tropics
whose broken - down plane crashes in a storm , stranding him and his charter , new york magazine editor robin monroe ( anne heche ) , on a deserted island .
of course , the sophisticated robin and the salt - of - the - earth quinn are at odds long before the plane goes down , and all manner of hostile repartee is exchanged between the two from their first meeting .
while some of the lines fall flat , the formulaic motions work because of the unexpectedly electric chemistry between ford and heche .
both actors , who have largely done serious works as of late , seem liberated by the lack of dramatic weight on their shoulders , and they deliver their zingers , as weak as they sometimes are , with beguiling abandon .
naturally , there 's nothing like a life - threatening crisis to bring two people together , and quinn and robin 's warmup to each other is sped up even further by the arrival of some bloodthirsty pirates .
granted , some conflict needed to be introduced on the island , but this tacked - on development from writer michael browning is a bit too obviously thrown in for the purpose of adding gratuitous action scenes .
but the point is to get the two together , and their newfound affection causes complications for both , but mostly robin , who came to the islands on a vacation with her fiance frank ( david schwimmer ) , who frantically awaits her return on the home island .
reitman , and old , reliable hand at breezy comedies , keeps the pace brisk and capably handles the more action - oriented sequences .
his big accomplishment , however , is bringing the old , smiling ford back .
as appealing and charismatic as he always is , ford has n't been quite this charming and affable in years ; he 's obviously having a blast , and the audience can not help but have one along with him . holding her own is heche , whose scrappy character never becomes the screaming ninny
she initially promises to be ( as the plane goes down , she frantically pops stress pills ) .
she can take her lumps , physical and otherwise , just as well as quinn , making her a formidable foil and ideal match . formulaic and light as a feather , _ six_days ,
_ seven_nights _ could be cited as a classic example of the summer " popcorn " movie season 's lack of substance .
it 's certainly fluff , but it 's unpretentious , undemanding , and -- most importantly -- fun fluff that goes down as easily as a frothy pina colada on a balmy tropical beach
.
pass the popcorn .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: "
an intimate , character - driven drama about a troubled youth at a crossroads in his life , " read the press notes for _
reach_the_rock
_ .
i 'm not really sure what film that statement is describing because those words bear little resemblance to the slow , completely uninvolving bore i saw --
at least , it certainly does not describe what goes on for most of the film .
alessandro nivola plays robin fleming , a troubled , directionless 21-year - old who has a penchant for breaking storefront windows in a small town .
police sergeant phil quinn ( william sadler ) takes him in , and what ensues for the first 70 minutes is a tedious series of sneak - outs and sneak - ins where robin slips out of his jail cell , breaks a window , then returns , all without quinn ever noticing .
also added to the pointless proceedings is some would - be humorous shenanigans involving quinn 's dimwitted deputy ernie attempting to engage in clandestine patrol car sex with his girlfriend donna ( karen sillas ) .
with a half hour ( if even that long ) remaining , director william ryan and writer john hughes ( yes , john hughes of ' 80s youth films
and _ home_alone _ ) finally approach something close to a point .
turns out robin still pines for his high school sweetheart lise ( brooke langton ) , who has long gone on with her life , and hughes 's main concern at long last reveals itself as a tired " live in the present and for the future " message .
most moviegoers , however , will likely be asleep by that time .
wide awake , however , is the cast , who individually tackle their showcase dramatic scenes with energy and skill -- thus revealing the _ real _ purpose behind
this listless enterprise : to serve as a series of acting exercises .
such a glorified workshop may have its rewards for the actors , but it leaves audiences with a booby prize .
( opens october 16 )

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: -- comedy , rated pg , runs about 1 : 40 -- starring : john goodman , kathy moriarty , and a bunch of teenagers -- directed by joe dante and written by charles hass -- summary : lawrence woolsley ( john goodman ) brings his new horror film mant !
to premiere in key west during the height of the cuban missile crisis .
he hopes to capitalize on the tense moment by providing an escape for the town .
we see most of the events through the stories of four teenagers and how life affects them .
quick and easy review : i really enjoyed matinee .
the mixture of comedy and tension blended nicely .
unlike many comedies this film tries , and succeeds , in getting past the stage of doing anything for a laugh .
the makers of the film also cared about telling an intelligent story .
the performances of all the principals are right on the mark , particularly john goodman as the schlock master .
so i would definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a light hearted , yet interesting way to spend a couple of hours .
longer , more detailed review : [ beware of spoilers ] the primary reason
i enjoyed this film was , that while being a comedy , the film also had an intelligent story to tell .
too many comedies today subscribe to the the notion that a comedy need only make you laugh .
you watch the movie , laugh a lot , leave the theatre and take nothing with you .
matinee is not like that .
i left the picture thinking about what i would do faced with the cuban missile crisis .
i found myself wondering what would happen to the characters of the film .
but most importantly , i found myself caring about what would happen to the characters .
the comedy of the film centers around goodman , his character , and the film he brings to key west .
i believe that goodman is one of the finest comedic actors in the business today .
he is highly expressive both physically and vocally .
i felt he at least deserved an oscar nomination for his work in barton fink .
the other characters are often lost in a scene with him due to his commanding nature , however , while the star , goodman is actually not at the center of the film .
the movie is really the story of the four teenagers , discovering who they are and what they want , against a background where at any minute it could all end .
i thought the kids reaction were highly realistic
.
they tried to block it out , they tried to escape from the concerns of their world .
unfortunately it kept creeping back in , particularly with the fear , and the chaos of the time .
while the comedy centered on goodman , and the drama on the teens , there was a great deal of overlap .
several aspects of the panic are shown in a humorous light .
one example is a scene where people are fighting each other for the the last cans and boxes of food in a grocery store .
if you think about it the threat of nuclear annihilation seems hardly to be the backdrop for a comedy , but it works here .
another reason
i like this film is that i like b- science fiction movies .
one of my favorite films to go watch is plan 9 from outer space .
( note i did not say it was one of my favorite movies , but one of my favorite to see . )
while mant ! never got made , many films like it were , and mant ! serves mostly as dante 's homage to the b - films he loves .
so again i would like to recommend matinee to anybody looking for a good , humorous story .
this is n't a gag film like many other comedies but
an intelligent , well - thought out , film about real people with real problems told in an often hilarious way .
enjoy !

SOLUTION:
P