TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given product reviews about dvds. The goal is to classify the review as "POS" if the overall sentiment of the review is positive(the reviewer is satisfied) or as "NEG" if the overall sentiment of the review is negative(the reviewer is not satisfied).
PROBLEM: Great Movie But MUCH Is Fiction..... . I am a math teacher myself so I have always had a special interest in this film.  I think it is very well done and it is very inspirational.      However, for anyone who wants to know the TRUE story of what happened with Escalante and his students, purchase the book "Escalante: The Best Teacher in America" by Jay Mathews.  The film leads you to believe that Escalante took students who didn't know how to multiply and then in the course of one school year made those same students score 5s on the AP Calculus test.  This is far from what really happened.  Escalante spent YEARS developing a program and he made sure he had proper courses that led to an understanding of Calculus.    There is one other noticeable bit of fiction in the film.  The movie portrays it as the testing company (ETS) accused the students of cheating simply because the company was racist and they felt the students at Garfield High School couldn't have possibly known the material.  The true story is that some answers on the AP tests from Garfield were noticeably similar.  About 12 students made the same exact errors on one particular problem, and that is what made ETS suspicious.    So once again, a well done film, and while is it "based on a true story", it is far from a true story

SOLUTION: POS

PROBLEM: For BB fans a strong 4; casual sports fans a 3. . Though some people consider Cobb the greatest, I don't recall ever seeing any name higher than Mr. Ruth in any book, on any list, with the exception of one book which places Willie Mays at the top. So with that statement, there should be many sports fans and historains who would want to check this movie/DVD out (though it's a little light on actual baseball *playing* - too bad, because the photography/camera work is terrific).  Tommy Lee Jones plays the part as if he's auditioning for the part of Mephistofolies; or Sweeney Todd; it's surely "over the top" but he dominates every single scene he's in, actually over-running (with no sharpened spikes) Mr. Rhul, playing the (now) legendary sports writer Al Stump. In "real life", it seems Stump had to deal with a relatively tame but decidedly moody lion, in motel rooms, in banquet halls, in lounges, all over the place.  The movie portrays a somewhat self-righteous writing genuis, as it constantly refers to his own personal troubles - the more he yells at his employer, who ultimately he does befriend, albeit cautiously, the more the very perceptive, though dying 72 year old man, reminds him of his own mess as a  filanderer and failed husband. There's a rather unconvincing scene towards the end of the picture, when at some motel Stump is presented with Divorce papers and he begins to fire Cobb's gun in the direction of this guy who's been chasing him around the country for this purpose. The script is very strong throughout but here the scene ends on a depressing note. What was needed was for Cobb to simply convey through his eyes "Wanna throw any more "stones" at *me*, son?" Well, maybe that's a bit trite, but the scene closes as Lee says that he saw nothing - just a coupla bad boys.  Lolita Davidovitch has some good scenes, but her 1960 Vegas Cocktail Waitress has the look but not the "feel", meaning Shelton probably had to make her a milennium feminist to fit the quasi-political contemporary movie industry demands. Keeping the character more to the period would have worked.  Another concession to the male-female spirit of today, not 1960, is in a deleted scene: Stump watches, through his office window, and in the company of his Secretary, a shapely lady ascend a staircase. In the midst of his confusion and disorientation, he tells his exasperated co-worker to tell his wife, who has just called, well, tell her something. I wonder what the "real" Al Stump thought of that kind of stuff.  Tyrus Raymond Cobb surely fought death...and life. In his profession, he reached high, refusing to be taken lightly or be beaten. As his violent world finally came crashing in, and his health was in free-fall, he still refused to acknowledge his vulnerability, his mortality. Maybe that's the only real lesson to be learned by all of this: even a wicked man can sustain by calling up his reserve of strength and courage; maybe even artfulness.   Mr. Shelton delivers a very interesting narrative of the back story,  though he sounds very subdued - perhaps the memory that the kind of numbers the Georgia Peach drew out to the old ball park did not exactly compare to this movie about his last days

SOLUTION: POS

PROBLEM: the creek definitely took a nosedive in its college years, but... . i hadn't seen all of these episodes when they aired--nor all of seasons 4 or 5, as my interest/obsession waned after the crew went to college--so it was worth it to me to be able to view them all in full.  HOWEVER, they aren't very good and i very much doubt that i will watch them again and again over time the way i might the first 3 seasons.    the final two-part episode is an exception but if one wanted, one COULD buy that episode alone on DVD.    the creators took the helm back for the series finale and it focuses on our original 4-5 characters (5 if you include jack), leaving out audrey and others, which i for one VERY MUCH appreciated.  although to me they already had enough of an acceptable reason and to reunite everyone in capeside (five years in the future) and enough material w/which to surprise us (and tie up some loose ends) all in a nice melodramatic/comedic fashion WITHOUT *killing another character off*. (after both abbey and mitch met accidental deaths in earlier seasons, i feel like it gets to be a bit much--but at least this time, there's a believable--although rarely occurring--medical cause.)    at least joey ended up with the right guy (in my not-so-humble opinion).    basically, if you're a committed dawson's (err, joey's ;-) creek fan and want to collect the whole set, you'll want to purchase this season.  otherwise, though, you might consider skipping it and maybe buying the series finale separately.    also, special features were sorely lacking.  this set marked the end of one of the WB's most successful shows that launched acting careers for several young people; the least they could have done is include behind-the-scenes interviews with cast/crew!  creator commentary on the last episode just doesn't cut it

SOLUTION:
NEG