TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: tom dicillo directs this superficial comedy about superficial people in superficial careers , all searching for deeper meaning .
however , they wo n't find much meaning in the real blonde , and not enough real humor , either .
joe ( matthew modine ) is a struggling actor , or he claims to be one , even though he has no credits under his belt .
his girlfriend , mary ( catherine keener ) has no pretensions about her career : she 's a makeup artist , working for the eccentric fashion photographer blair ( marlo thomas ) and supermodel of the month , sahara ( bridgette wilson ) .
sahara , who has acquired a new age spirituality from repeated viewing of the little mermaid , has an on - again , off - again relationship with joe 's best friend , bob ( maxwell caulfield ) .
however , bob has gotten his biggest break yet : a starring role on a soap opera opposite the beautiful kelly ( daryl hannah ) , who may be that illusive woman he 's always pursued : a real blonde .
there are some moments of good humor in the real blonde , but not enough .
the best stuff is in throwaway details in the background , such as sahara 's perfume ads : " depression -
it 's not just a state of mind " .
but to find humor in the superficiality of models and actors is to shoot fish in a barrel . and ,
unfortunately , the film 's forays outside the realm of comedy are pathetic .
take for example the film 's framing device of an old lady and her dog .
the story serves absolutely no purpose , makes little sense , and is completely tangential to the main plotlines of the movie .
matthew modine and catherine keener have the most sympathetic characters in the film , but they 're stuck in the most boring plotlines .
modine whines and complains and would be completely pathetic if he was matched against someone stronger than elizabeth berkley , who appears as another struggling actor .
keener 's character has a stronger edge , but the insult self - defense class ( taught by denis leary , no less ) she is stuck in makes little sense .
the movie 's running time is under two hours , but it seems like it is well over it .
there 's just not enough humor to speed things along , and not enough meaning to propel any drama .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: plot : this movie takes place over one day .
it 's a rookie cop 's narcotics training alongside a seasoned police veteran .
the rookie does n't know much about " street justice " , so the older cop teaches him about the way things work in the " real world " .
how even cops like themselves have to " bend the rules " and " break the law " every now and then , in order to catch the really bad guys .
critique : a pretty intense little movie with solid acting across the board , some ups , some downs and a thrilling ending , despite a couple of small flaws .
i really enjoyed this movie because it followed two extreme characters and put them in situations which had me wondering about what i would do if i were in their place .
the film gets right into the " dirty " side of , well .
..
the dirt on the streets , and proceeds to teach the rookie cop ( and us , the audience ) how things really work down there .
of course , we 're receiving this lesson from a man who has put away a lot of scum in his time , but the things he seems to be doing are n't exactly on the up - and - up either . and therein , lies the fun of the film .
do you agree that you yourself would need to break a few small laws in order to put away the people who break the really big ones ?
well , as the film moves along , we 're given two points of view in respect to this predicament , and to me , both sides made sense at some point or another . and
you got ta give a lot of credit to the screenplay for that , the director , who builds the film up wonderfully ( with the darkness of the day leading to the darkness in the script ) and the two actors who deliver their parts in spades .
hawke , first off , because he rarely plays these " commercial " roles but does so perfectly here , with a vulnerable side which has you feeling for the bastard right off the top .
and denzel , well , what can you say about mr .
washington that has n't already been said before ?
he comes through as per his usual high - level style here , and gives the audience a completely different side to his talent , of which , i personally would like to see more .
he 's nice
, he 's not so nice , he 's smart , he 's not so smart , he 's caring
and he 's a dog all the way .
the few problems that i did have with this film included the redundant nature of the whole thing at some point ( okay , we get it .
..
you have to be nasty in order to deal with these nasty people .
.. move on ) and this one really major " coincidence " which involved a bathtub , that saved the day for one character , but seemed a little too " convenient " for my taste .
i also never really understood how washington 's character got out of a certain dire predicament , only to be seen driving his car in the very next scene .
but obviously these small flaws did n't taint my overall enjoyment of this tense drama , a film that gets you right into the streets , into the nooks and the crannies , and into the moral dilemma which lies between the justice system and the day - to - day drug busts .
see it if you want to wrestle with some of these issues yourself
, see it if you want to see denzel and ethan strike up a palpable chemistry on - screen , and see it if you like holding on to your seat - handles real tight during a movie .
in fact , see it for the scene in which ethan hawke plays cards with a host of gang - bangers alone .
..
dang
, now that 's intense !
where 's joblo coming from ?
the corruptor ( 7/10 ) - crimson tide ( 9/10 ) - l. a.
confidential ( /10 )
- lethal weapon ( 8/10 ) - requiem for a dream ( 8/10 ) - seven ( 10/10 ) - shaft ( 7/10 ) - traffic ( 8/10 )

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: some concepts seem patently hopeless from the beginning , a live - action version of mr .
magoo being a prime example .
the cartoon figure mr .
magoo , the bumbling blind man , can be quite funny , but only in small doses and only within the confines of animated images .
if you think naked gun star leslie nielsen is a dubious choice to play the role of the short guy who runs into walls , you are right , but there is an even more astonishing selection .
for a director they tapped hong kong 's stanley tong , whose resume consists mainly of a handful of movies featuring martial arts expert jackie chan .
the story , such that there is one , is about a large , stolen ruby , which looks a woolworth reject .
mr .
magoo gets it and , of course , does not realize he has it .
mayhem then ensues as the bad and the good guys chase each other with mr .
magoo frequently oblivious to the fact that anyone is being chased .
like home alone 3 but
without any class , mr . magoo can only be described as painfully bad .
fifteen minutes of it feels like an eternity .
the movie 's humor is pathetically lame , and the pacing is way off .
when one is stuck in a theater for an hour and a half watching what claims to be a motion picture , one looks for some solace .
mr .
magoo provides only three such moments .
the movie begins and ends with the classic cartoon version of the character , who exudes his usual charm .
the only other saving grave in the movie itself is angus , the sweet little bulldog .
angus demonstrates more genuine emotions and a wider acting range than any of the humans in the picture .
finally , the ending credits contain outtakes of the movie , which have some of the genuineness and spontaneity that the movie badly lacked . rather than attempt to adapt mr .
magoo to a non - cartoon movie , nielsen makes the strategic mistake of trying to literally be a human version of the cartoon .
he has trouble sustaining the squinting eyes and the affected voice , and
even when he does it comes off as awkwardly unfunny .
my wife managed to get some sleep during the movie , but i was not so lucky .
hopefully , this picture will force producers to think harder about which subjects have promise and which do not .
mr .
magoo runs 1 : 37 .
it is rated pg for comic violence and would be acceptable for all ages .
my son jeffrey , age 8 , said he thought the movie was good and really funny , but recommends you not choose it if you want an action movie .
he said he liked home alone
3 much more .
his friend maxim , age 9 , said that he thought it was good but
very silly and parts did not make sense .
his other friend nickolas , age 8 , said he 'd give the movie
*
* * 1/2 , but that
it was really silly .

SOLUTION:
N