TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: in some regards , making a movie is like trying to stretch a rubber band as far as you can without breaking it .
try too hard , and it snaps ; but too much reservation means someone else will come along and pull it farther .
in simon birch , director mark steven johnson shows us just how to master the technique
: he takes advantage of caution and poise , but also risks his movie with a few bold steps .
in the end , he 's not only holding an unbroken band , but
he makes the audience appreciate the lengths he went to direct such a fine feature .
there 's no doubt about it : the film that johnson has crafted is rich .
he chooses for his setting the quaint town of gravestown , maine - leaves turn bright orange in the fall , the grass is a lush green , pure white snow falls in the winter , and the sky goes on forever .
the characters continue that turn : our two leads are simon birch ( ian michael smith ) and joe wenteworth ( joseph mazzello ) .
simon is the smallest baby ever born within the records of the local hospital , and by age twelve he 's only two feet tall .
joe is the bastard son of rebecca ( ashley judd ) , and by age twelve he 's ready to know who is father
is .
naturally , the two outcasts become good friends and share many adventures together , from disrupting sunday school to doing community service to playing little league baseball .
in a wonderfully executed performance by ian michael smith , simon birch is convinced that he 's god 's instrument , and there must be a reason he 's so small .
joe does n't quite buy it , but he sticks by simon ; the two tough it out through the worst of times and are each other 's only true friends .
early on , the two meet up with ben goodrich ( oliver platt ) , rebecca 's new boyfriend , and although the bond is n't immediate , ben and the two boys develop a liking for each other . both platt and judd give solid performances that lend their characters a deep likeability
.
the audience cares about them as much as they do about joe and simon , a testament to the acting jobs of both .
finally , jim carrey gives a cameo as the adult joe in the present day , and his few minutes here are relatively more impressive than his entire performance in the truman show .
mark steven johnson 's sense of drama and writing is fantastic
.
the script is loosely based on john irving 's novel , a prayer for owen meany , but it 's so far off the source material that irving actually requested the credits be changed from ' based on ' to ' suggested by . ' along those same lines , it 's almost unfitting to compare the two ; johnson uses tension , humor , atmosphere , and suspense to create an original drama of forrest gumpian proportions .
by no means has he developed a project of similar popularity - gump made over 300 million dollars while birch ought to pass out of sight in a few weeks - but the winning idea remains the same .
simon birch is a different look at a different life , and one that will most likely be studied in film school classes in decades to come
.
in the present , however , it 's an enjoyable little picture that everyone ought to take a look at .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: there 's no reason to doubt that donnie brasco is based , as its opening credits proclaim , on a true story .
but if it 's an accurate picture of life on america 's mean streets , than cinematic depictions of organised crime have had a much stronger basis in reality than i would have previously thought .
for from the film 's outset , when a group of hoods jocularly trade differing opinions on the merits of various automobiles ( not unlike a number of movie lowlifes who recently gave a madonna song a close reading ) donnie brasco resembles more than passingly a few gangster flicks once believed to be works of fiction .
our eponymous hero ( johnny depp ) is not the cheap crook he first appears to be .
brasco is joseph pistone , an undercover fbi agent who has the task of chumming - up to lefty ( al pacino ) , a seasoned hood who tutors pistone in the art of being a " wiseguy " .
regrettably , pistone learns his lessons all too well .
his concern for lefty , who is burdened with a heroin addicted son , exacerbates his own family troubles : his children resent his lengthy absences and his wife fears that her husband 's gangster persona is becoming a little too convincing .
true , the focus on pistone 's family life does deviate from the typical gangster - flick formula , but this subplot never rises above its television drama origins .
the unhappy couple trade predictable lines and engage in drawn - out domestic squabbles ? including an ill - advised marriage guidance routine ?
that slow the film down unnecessarily . the biggest problem with donnie brasco , however , is that its wiseguy attitude and style lacks the flair of its many predecessors .
the awkward use of an occasional disco tune momentarily reminds us its the 70 's , but not with the consistent and blindingly tacky style ?
i loved those fluoro coloured suits ? of scorces ' costume drama casino .
more importantly , pacino 's presence triggers memories of his earlier movie triumphs in which similar territory was covered far more effectively .
donnie brasco 's take on american values , for instance , is feeble and obvious .
lefty rambles out dreams of material betterment to the accompaniment of grating inspirational music .
inexplicably , lefty 's horatio alger inspired gush is supposed to move us .
it does n't any more than his family troubles do , which are dealt in the same saccharine and obvious manner as pistone 's .
just think a minute on how these themes were explored in the godfather movies and scarface .
in these pictures pacino 's dedication to a peculiar and bloody hyper - capitalism was twisted and confronting , while his dogged application of macho wiseguy procedure meant that his relations to friends and family was intriguingly dark ?
neither were spared bloody retribution for breaching wiseguy regulations .
donnie brasco 's tawdry little crime , therefore is n't so much its repetition of familiar gangster themes , but
the shameless way in which it sanitises them .
( oh and by the way , i forgot to mention that the script also sports a startling subplot : pipstone 's superiors are obstructive incompetents who are infuriated by his constant insubordination ?
is that a " damn you mcbain !
" i hear from springfield way ? )
so
the movie is cliched .
big deal
, what do you expect from a gangster - flick ?
well you expect quality action sequences and bravado performances in abundance if its going to be a decent example of the genre .
donnie brasco fails on both counts .
the action scenes never rise above the ordinary and depp 's woeful performance tends to smother the good - work of his comrades .
admittedly , pacino does nothing new and michael madsen ( sonny ) simply smirks his way through the picture like a slightly subdued mr .
white , but both possess an unmistakable sly charm .
depp usually exhibits a bit of class himself , but regrettably , being in the presence of one of his betters must have left him star - struck , for he is completely hell - bent on mimicking pacino 's well - earned high style .
the consequences are painful to watch .
its no exaggeration to say that the film 's credibility is seriously strained by the sight of the pistone family 's uncanny ability to keep a straight face in front of their breadwinner 's phony brooklyn accent .
perhaps we should take pity on the makers of donnie brasco .
maybe a scrupulous adherence to pinpoint accuracy demanded tiered dialogue and scenarios weakly reminiscent of classic gangster flicks .
if this is indeed the case , surely the makers of donnie brasco could have explored the fascinating possibility that america 's underworld is committed to emulating , albeit in heavily attenuated form , their movie namesakes .
depp could have poignantly played a simple cop who becomes a hideous parody once he is forced to mimic big - screen gangster greats .
who knows what insights into the criminal psyche could have arisen ?
but then again , perhaps donnie brasco is n't so true after all .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: from dusk till dawn ( director / editor : robert rodriguez ; screenwriters : quentin tarantino / robert kurtzman ( story ) ; cinematographer : guillermo navarro ; cast : quentin tarantino ( richie gecko ) , george clooney ( seth gecko ) , juliette lewis ( kate fuller ) , harvey keitel ( jacob fuller ) , ernest liu ( scott fuller ) , salma hayek ( santanico pandemonium ) , tom savini ( sex machine ) , fred williamson ( frost ) , cheech marin ( border guard / chet pussy / carlos ) , michael parks ( texas ranger ) , brenda hillhouse ( hostage gloria ) ; runtime : 108 ; dimension films ; 1996 ) reviewed by dennis
schwartz
it 's a love it or hate it film .
i simply hated it .
on its menu for fun , is a violent feast served up as charm and done in a tongue - and - cheek manner .
it 's a serial killer / horror film farce of nonstop over - the - top action and sleaze , involving decapitations , vampires , biker fights , extended gun play , and an array of gore that has to be seen to be believed .
a film that regales in its vulgarity and campiness for blood - and - gore , as
it goes out of its way to gloss over the clich ?
s of the conventional b - films .
it 's geared only for the cult film crowd , and will make its mark there one way or the other .
the plot involves two psychopath brothers , the older professional bank robber and killer seth gecko ( clooney ) and the perverted psychopath killer , richie ( tarantino ) , who kills for pleasure and is also a rapist .
they escape jail and go on a killing spree in wichita and then flee to a liquor store in a small texas border town .
they have just robbed a bank and killed a number of cops , they have also taken a middle - aged bank teller as a hostage .
in the liquor store they kill a texas ranger and the store clerk , and burn down the store .
stopping off in a flop - house motel , richie rapes and slaughters the hostage .
these scenes are all done with an eye for comedy and parody , if that 's possible .
on the tv news , it says they have killed 16 so far and most are texas rangers .
the brothers plan to get to mexico and meet carlos ( cheech ) , who will give them a place of sanctuary for thirty percent of their illegal take .
with road blocks and car searches at the border , the brothers commandeer a motor home of a vacationing family who stopped at their motel so that the father could sleep in a real bed .
there is the father , jacob fuller ( keitel ) , who just resigned as a minister because he lost faith ever since his wife died in a car accident ; his sexy 20-year - old , innocent daughter , kate ( lewis ) ; and , her shy brother scott ( liu ) .
it 's not explained how he happens to be chinese .
the story really becomes bizarre when they get across the border and get ready to meet carlos in a bar / whorehouse for truckers and bikers called the titty twister .
the place is open from dawn to dusk , thus the film 's title .
here 's where rodriguez has a chance to throw convention out the window and have some absurd fun , as the place turns out to be a vampire hangout .
it sells sex to its patrons , and has exotic stripper santanico pandemonium ( hayek ) do her alluring strip before turning into a vampire .
the brothers and their hostages have to fight their way out of the place , as the vampires keep coming and the killings become the film 's staple .
this supposedly clever script did nothing but turn me off , though there were a few funny moments in a film that was dripping with special effects and spent most of its script in finding novel ways to showcase its killings .
i 'll take a pass on this one
, it 's just not my style of a film .
the characters were as empty as the story , and the film was an easy one to forget .

SOLUTION:
N