TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: synopsis : the president of a company wants to test his self - appointed successor , who 's psychotic , and thinks it 's a great idea to spend a week with him and their wives in an isolated cabin a hundred miles from civilization with no dependable transportation or means of communication after a heavy snowfall .
comments : tracks of a killer had a couple of strikes against it before i even began watching it .
strike one was the fact that someone had scrawled the word garbage on the videotape 's sticker in black marker
( not typically a good sign when you rent a film ) .
strike two came while the previews played .
did you ever get a sinking premonition about a movie 's quality ( or lack thereof ) while watching the trailers that come before it ?
well , the cheesy films being advertised before tracks of a killer were films that no one has ever heard of starring people no one knows , and they all looked bad ( definately not a good sign ) .
tracks of a killer itself completed the strikeout .
about the only positive thing this film had going for it was the fact that it sports some nice scenery .
to be fair , the first half - hour or so promises at least a watchable thriller .
wolf larson , who bears more than a passing resemblance to hugh grant , adequately plays the underling obviously set up as the killer of the film 's title .
james brolin and kelly lebrock seem equally adequate as the loving couple larson will later threaten .
brolin 's character , for some inexplicable reason , thinks its a great idea to spend some time in a cabin , practically isolated , with lebrock and larson , whom he 's decided to test for the week before giving him full control of his company .
by the time the characters arrive at the cabin , this film begins to become tedious .
apparently , brolin 's successor 's test involves chopping wood for the fireplace and skiing , which do n't seem like attributes necessary to run a business in the city .
but , then again , what do i know about business ?
i do think , though , that they should have invested in some better furniture for the cabin ; its beds and closets have a habit of just breaking at the slightest touch .
larson 's character accidently kills his own wife rather than the couple he wants to kill .
this leaves the movie with an hour to go and only three characters , which really is n't enough to sustain it .
the film 's writer must have taken a cue from stephen king , as scenes from tracks of a killer seem lifted out of misery and gerald 's game .
larson and lebrock fight and torture each other ( the tables get turned a couple of times ) while brolin tramps around in the snow looking for help .
some old guy 's around too
, just so the killer can add to his body count without killing the couple , who everyone knows will be alive at the end of the film .
the old guy , however , miraculously survives his first death and appears later to be killed again by the killer in a scene
so ludicrous it 's worthy of a chuckle or two
.
outside of that chuckle , unfortunately , tracks of a killer will just bore you as the obvious plot is drawn out ad infinitum and the actors , for some reason , become increasing obnoxious . if you 're in a video store and thinking about renting this turkey , do n't . make tracks to a far superior suspense film , like misery .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: ` run lola run ' , a german import that gained a stellar reputation at the sundance film festival , is a dazzling and kinetic film that deals with the subjects of fate and chance .
for a berserk and retroactive 81 minutes of non - stop movement , we follow a fiery - haired heroine named lola ( franka potente ) as she sprints to save her boyfriend from the clutches of drug dealers .
lola has roughly twenty minutes to somehow retrieve 100 , 000 marks in time to save manni ( moritz bleibtreu ) from being killed by the dealer .
but , in something of a pseudo- ` groundhog day ' approach , director tom tykwer gives lola three separate chances to best navigate her way toward the goal .
in these trio of episodes , we gradually learn the unique effects of fate , for even if tiny changes are made in lola 's journey , the future can be seriously altered .
` run lola run ' is an experience like ` fight club ' or ` the matrix ' , in that each film takes you through a super - charged wormhole of bending reality in surreal and exciting ways .
in addition , all three movies have a visual style that separates them from the rest of the pack .
` lola ' is no exception , with stylish quick - flash camera work and cinematography that serves as scintillating eye candy from the get - go .
tykwer 's world is a landscape of mood and color , with brilliant shades of red and pink ( including lola 's fiery hair ) used as effective symbolism throughout .
with it 's visual style and mind - blowing pace , ` run lola run '
is one of the more invigorating movies of the year .
even more so when considering the fact it 's all stuffed rather nonchalantly into an 81-minute time period .
as a heroine , potente does little more than run wildly through the streets ( as the title suggests ) , but
she has a certain flair and charisma .
her exemplary running form made me wonder if she is actually a track star .
meanwhile , bleibtreu does an equally fantastic job of bringing the dopey but passionate manni to life .
both actors perform beyond the call of duty .
the dazzling fun comes from predicting what each episode holds in store for lola , and the outcome is ultimately rewarding - several twists and turns are unique and unexpected .
the other characters lola runs into ( both purposely and inadvertently ) include her banker father ( herbert kraup ) and a friendly security guard ( armin rohde ) , but aside from the two leads , no one has more than a few minutes of screen time .
additional stars that could n't possibly be ignored are cinematographer frank griebe and editor mathilde bonnefroy , who are both responsible for the film 's eye - catching visual elegance .
` run lola run ' is subtitled , so be prepared to meet the challenge of reading the lightning - fast dialogue - occasional sections of it are especially fast .
this is only one of the minor chores involved in watching .
the other is the sense that we never get to really recognize who the real people are in this hyperactive situation .
most are just chess pieces in tykwer 's elaborate game of visual presentation , and he never really makes a significant move with any .
but , the average viewer is likely to be
so absorbed in the action that few will realize the lack of potency in a few elements of the screenplay .
a few petty gripes aside , this film is a wild , exhilarating ride that turns maniacally on its wheel of originality .
most people believe foreign films are mainly boring , talky character studies .
perhaps ` run lola run ' will recharge their batteries .
not only does this film offer insight into some intriguing questions of fate and destiny , it also delivers a white - knuckle visual rollercoaster ride of overwhelming audacity .
like how the experience must have been for the persistent title character , ` run lola run ' is exhausting .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: who would have thought ?
jim carrey does drama .
when i first saw the advertisement for the truman show , i thought , " what a hilarious idea for a movie !
" however , it was an even better premise for a drama .
the truman show takes us into a world that revolves around one man .
that man is truman burbank ( jim carrey ) .
truman has no clue what is really going on in his world and frankly , cristof wants to keep it that way .
christof is the " god " of this made - up world .
he keeps everything running and gives the actors their roles .
there were a few attempts to tell truman about his world , but they failed and life went on as normal .
the opening parts of the film introduce to truman 's world .
we see what he is doing at his current age , then we get a flashback at his past .
it may seem a tad boring , but it is so intriguing that you will fall in love with the film right from the start .
the film can be described in one word : weird .
it seems like such a simple idea , yet it is something that a majority of us would never think of , but andrew niccol did .
it seems like a warped idea , but it is andrew 's idea and he did wonders with it .
jim carrey actually lived up to the hype .
the hype , whether good or bad , always focused on carrey 's ability to do drama .
no one doubted how extraordinary this film could be , the only thing they doubted was carrey .
and he showed them all up .
jim carrey was snubbed at the oscars .
i do not think he was the best actor , but he deserved the nomination .
he plays truman burbank , the unsuspecting star of the most popular television show in the world .
he has lived a normal life for almost thirty years , but then strange things start happening .
he ventures into the wrong elevator .
a light crashes in front of him .
his father comes back and is then pulled away .
we are constantly teased with all of this and we know it is a show , but truman does not .
and it is just a constant progression that never gets sluggish .
carrey is able to shed his comedy to play a major role in a major drama .
laura linney is magnificent
as the camera hungry wife .
she plays her role as advertiser and budding star to a point .
peter weir does not make the cast perfect , and their flaws eventually lead to truman 's escape .
the story unfolds until the show becomes too big and everything crashes down .
despite carrey 's greatness , the best performance in the truman show undoubtedly is turned in by ed harris , who plays the " god " of truman 's world .
he displays the pressure he is under , the world he has created .
he becomes so paranoid that he believes he is a god and that truman has him to thank for his sham of a life .
the action moves at a good pace , and rarely gets sluggish .
but , the main point of the film is how it looks like a television show .
it really makes you think .
maybe your brother is an actor , maybe your best friend is in heated contract negotiations to stay on the show .
some of the best parts of the film are when truman ventures into the wrong elevator and sees cast members drinking coffee and talking .
or when truman tunes into the wrong station and hears orders being said for truman 's arrival .
and when christof focuses in on truman and cues the dramatic music as marlon ( noah emmerich ) delivers his dramatic line .
all of these ideas are just perfect for the film and extremely innovative .
i was not only enjoying the film , i was overwhelmed by genius of it .
overall , the truman show is one of the freshest and innovative films to come out of hollywood .
jim carrey shows that he is not just a man of a million faces , but a legitimate actor who could go down as one of the best .
andrew niccol is responsible for the screenplay and peter weir pulled it off to perfection .
the truman show is a must see for anyone who likes movies in general because they will be thoroughly impressed by this creative film .

SOLUTION:
P