In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

[Q]: the camera zooms in incredibly close .
it focuses on the closed eyes of a person presumed dead .
all of a sudden , with a thunderous sound effect and an eerie sounding musical pulse , his eyelids open .
the camera zooms in incredibly close .
it focuses on one of the characters desperately running for her life .
then , with a thunderous sound effect and an eerie sounding musical pulse , she bumps into the killer .
the camera zooms in incredibly close .
it focuses on a door from where seemingly strange sounds emanate .
all of a sudden , with a thunderous sound effect and an eerie sounding musical pulse , the doors swing open to reveal what 's inside .
close - up thrill - shots such as these seemed to elicit more laughter from the audience rather than genuine fear , which is a pretty good sign that you 're not watching the thriller that the director had originally envisioned
.
rather , you adopt the opinion that the characters are so goofy and
so unaware of the trouble that they 're in , that you stop caring
about who lives , who dies and where the story goes .
instead , you become more interested in how the characters get killed off .
the four young teenagers who are the potential sacrificial lambs for this movie are helen and barry and julie and ray - two couples and dear friends to one another .
during the summer just after high school graduation , they take a fateful drive down a dark mountain highway .
suddenly , without warning , their car hits someone whom the teens presume was killed as a result of that collision . fearing jail time and possible manslaughter charges if they confess , they instead decide to dump the body into the ocean and make a pact never to discuss the episode again .
a year goes by and things among the four friends begin to change .
relationships fizzle , future dreams crumble , and attitudes change .
but , they can not forget what they did .
and apparently , neither can someone else .
someone begins to send letters to all four of the teens with the frightening message : " i know what you did last summer .
"
the letter - writer ( a figure in a rubber slicker wielding a large metal hook ) soon makes his presence known and begins to hunt down the four teens .
it 's now up to the four of them to try to figure out who the killer is before it 's too late .
while this movie has some nice visually eerie effects , too much of it 's impact had to be generated with extreme close - ups , while the level of suspense was choppy at best .
there is so much more that this movie could have been , but decided to give us nothing but cheap thrills .
it could have been a clever whodunit , but discovering who ultimately was the killer made me just shrug my shoulders .
it could have explored the changed friendships after a year of adulthood , but seemed to only include that aspect to add 15 more minutes to the film .
it could have given us smarter characters who knew that anytime you 're alone and you see shadowy figures moving about , you do n't walk towards them yelling " hello " .
once you yell " hello " , you can expect an extreme close - up , a thunderous sound effect and an eerie sounding musical pulse .
it 's difficult to be in suspense when you know what 's about to happen .
the only redeeming aspect of the movie is that i now have a neat idea for a halloween costume , but i 'm not sure if the local costume store sells rubber slickers and hooks .
the horror that i experienced from this film is realizing that i actually went to see it .
[A]: N


[Q]: gothic murder - mystery yarns are not a new conceit .
in fact , they 've been around in books and on film for many , many years .
without the proper handling , they come off as old - fashioned , bland , and outdated .
"
the gift , " directed by sam raimi , is a tried - and - true effort that surprises very little , and includes everything from a wide array of suspects and red herrings , to mansions in the deep south with moss trees out front , to the eventual discovery of a waterlogged corpse found in a nearby pond .
it 's fairly obvious who the killer is ;
in fact , i predicted who it would be before the movie began and was correct in my preliminary suspicions .
the film ultimately should n't work , but it does , thanks to a sparkling cast that fills each character with so many memorable nuances , the most fun to be had is in simply watching the people interact with each other
.
annie wilson ( cate blanchett ) is a recently widowed mother of three sons who makes her living giving psychic readings to the residents of her backwater southern hometown .
some of her mainstay clients include valerie barksdale ( hilary swank ) , who is severely abused by her husband donnie ( keanu reeves ) , and buddy cole ( giovanni ribisi ) , an unstable mechanic who is confused by the nightmares he 's been having about a mysterious blue diamond that is somehow linked to his father .
for annie , she does not give the readings merely for money , but uses it as a way of seeking solace in finding the good in everyone 's future .
her late grandmother ( rosemary harris ) told her as a child that it was a gift she was given , and she should always remember that .
when annie 's eldest son is involved in a fight at school , she meets the nice - guy school principal , wayne collins ( greg kinnear ) , whom she finds herself attracted to .
but wayne is engaged to the wealthy jessica king ( katie holmes ) , whom annie immediately gets a negative vibe about .
at a party with her best friend linda ( kim dickens ) , annie stumbles upon jessica in a compromising position with lawyer david duncan ( gary cole ) .
soon after , jessica has disappeared , leaving everyone in a frenzy over what could have possibly happened to her , and annie starts to have nightmares and apparitions linking jessica with the vicious redneck donnie barksdale , and the pond behind his home .
"
the gift " may be cliched on a sheer storytelling level , but the performances and tight direction from raimi ( who has redeemed himself for his embarrassing last film , 1999 's " for love of the game " ) lift the picture up several notches .
slowly enveloping the viewer into the many intriguing characters and their individual plights , the disappearance of jessica at the 30-minute mark divulges the movie 's true intentions and transforms the proceedings into a taut , at times frightening , horror - mystery .
at the center of the film is the exceptional cate blanchett ( 1999 's " the talented mr .
ripley " ) , who turns annie wilson from what could have been little more than a run - of - the - mill protagonist into a very exact , down - to - earth , realistic person with valid troubles and a caring attitude towards those around her .
blanchett takes the unextraordinary material and runs with it , giving the entire film a truly classy aura that it otherwise might not have had .
we follow her at every turn because she is so mesmerizing , both as a character and an actress .
blanchett is n't the only bright performer , as she is ably supported by one of the best casts of the year .
in her first role following her oscar win for 1999 's " boys do n't cry , " hilary swank is excellent as the confused valerie , who seeks guidance from annie , but is too scared to take her biggest advice of all : to leave the grossly abusive donnie .
as donnie , keanu reeves ( 2000 's " the watcher " ) makes an utterly convincing backwoods meanie , so much so that it is difficult to believe he is an actor at all
.
for the often - criticized reeves , whose acting abilities have never been the best , this is the biggest compliment he could possibly get , and it is also one of the better performances he has given .
giovanni ribisi ( 2000 's " the boiler room " ) is heartbreaking as a mentally slow young man who sees annie as his only friend , and wants her to do nothing but help him understand why he is being plagued by bad dreams about his dad .
in the small , but pivotal role of the sleazy jessica king , katie holmes ( 2000 's " wonder boys " ) has turned in yet another stunning supporting turn .
her promiscuous role of jessica is one she has never played before , and
she is radiant in her few scenes .
finally , kim dickens ( 2000 's " hollow man " ) makes her usual strong impression as annie 's spicy best friend , linda .
the other notable aspect of " the gift " is its moody atmosphere that lays such a thickly foreboding air over every scene it 's almost suffocating .
thanks to cleverly construed editing by arthur coburn and bob murawski , and the successful use of different eerie sounds effects and a very good music score by christopher young , the movie not only achieves a scary undercurrent , but one that is filled with dread . helped along by a strong screenplay by billy bob thornton and tom epperson , which makes the most of its setting and delightful cast , " the gift " is
that rarest of thrillers that actually thrills , and offers up a fair share of chills , too .
it may not be groundbreakingly original , but it sure is an entertaining ride for the duration of its running time .
[A]: P


[Q]: meet joe black is your classic boy - meets - girl , boy - likes - girl , boy - gets - killed - in - horrible - accident , supernatural - entity - takes - over - boy's - body , supernatural - entity - falls - in - love - with - girl story .
based on the 1934 film death takes a holiday , meet joe black is a well acted romantic drama which explores the meanings of life and love .
william parrish ( anthony hopkins ) is a billionaire businessman on the brink of his 65th birthday .
he has built a huge media empire , and raised two beautiful daughters , allison ( marcia gay harden ) and susan ( claire forlani ) .
william has been able to negotiate his way out of many tough spots . . .
but he has suddenly begun fearing his own mortality , the one situation he wo n't be able to talk his way out of .
and he has good reason to fear , for death himself is stalking him .
however , death has a deal to make .
death has taken possession of a man who has recently died ( brad pitt ) , and wants william to be his guide in a holiday among the living .
in return , william gets to live a few extra days .
of course , he agrees .
death , under the human name of " joe black " , gets to experience life as a complete innocent .
he never before has experienced the simple pleasures of a springy matters or peanut butter .
and he 's not quite compared for the more complex pleasures when he and susan fall in love .
but , is their affair doomed to an early demise ?
at nearly three hours in length , meet joe black is a little bit on the leisurely side , though it never gets boringly lengthy .
instead , the film gets a chance to develop some nicely textured characters and situations .
you get to soak in and enjoy the atmosphere , rather than being hurriedly rushed through it .
the romantic angle works well , though , surprisingly , the interactions between joe black and william parrish are more interesting than those with his daughter .
this is most likely due to anthony hopkins , who once again displays his superb acting skills .
william is a desperate man who has had a seemingly ideal life , and does n't want to let it go .
by contrast , claire forlani is merely the romantic interest .
she gets to show joe the ropes of love , but is hardly as interesting a character .
as joe black , brad pitt seems a bit stilted .
granted , he 's supposed to be out - of - place , but the overly formal technique used by pitt begins to distract from the role .
still , he is able to hold his own , and over the course of the three hours , his character begins to grow on you .
the main character who seems out of place here is drew ( jake weber ) , an ambitious executive in williams ' company who is joe black 's main rival for susan 's affections .
weber plays the character with a hammy relish reminiscent of snidley whiplash .
this cartoonish foil an aberration in a film filled many more dimensional characters .
the supernatural elements of the film are handled murkily , but never distractingly so .
we never learn what is the exact nature of death , or why he 's never done something like this before .
it actually gets a bit creepy when death talks to the dying in their own voices / accents .
( his initial conversations with hopkins sound shockingly like hannibal lecter . . . ) and the ultimate resolution to one of the film 's supernatural problems seems , well , somewhat superficial .
still , even with the film 's length , it was a pleasant time at the movies , something you would n't necessarily expect from a film about death . . .
but one which meet joe black delivers anyhow .
[A]:
P