TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: jackie brown entered theaters with little fanfare and a lot of expectation .
even though advance publicity on this one was fairly limited , the audiences waited for the showings with heightened anticipation .
this is , after all , the first movie quentin tarantino has directed since the highly touted pulp fiction .
to say he has been inactive in between would be to tell a falsehood , since he has been involved in such projects as destiny turns on the radio , desperado , four rooms , and from dusk ' til dawn .
he was also called in at the last minute to help punch up the screenplay for crimson tide .
( i 'm willing to wager the debate over which silver surfer is the only true silver surfer was penned by him . )
tarantino contributed on and off screen to these films , but never took the director 's helm .
nearly four years since gaining notoriety on the hollywood scene and making john travolta a star once more , tarantino returns with a film he can call his own .
the film opens up with an homage to the graduate , with jackie brown ( pam grier ) on one of those airport people movers as the credits are displayed in front of her .
jackie is a flight attendant for air cabo , which flies back and fourth between los angeles and cabo san lucas .
this makes jackie a convenient cash courier for gun dealer ordell robbi
( samuel l . jackson ) who is currently keeping his money stashed in mexico .
however , while bringing fifty thousand dollars back into the u . s .
for ordell , jackie is apprehended by fbi agent mark dargus ( michael bowen ) and atf agent ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) , who catch her not only with the money , but with a bonus of a couple of ounces of illicit drugs .
jackie did n't know they were in the package with the cash , but that 's of no consequence to the authorities , who threaten jackie with a couple of years hard time if convicted .
of course , dargus and nicolet are just using the sentence to get jackie to turn over the big fish , ordell .
ordell uses honest bail bondsman max cherry ( robert forster ) to get jackie out of jail , but while max is immediately attracted to her , jackie is more concerned about her immediate safety , since ordell killed the last one of his operatives who got picked up by the police .
sure enough , ordell shows up at jackie 's apartment that evening and tries to silence jackie for good , but she " borrows " max 's pistol and manages to turn the tables on ordell .
instead of closing the irony circle and relocating a bullet from the pistol 's chamber to ordell 's head , jackie proposes a deal .
since ordell wants to get his money out of mexico , jackie will get back up to her old tricks and be a courier for him once more , but this time for a more substantial fee : fifteen percent of ordell 's half million dollars .
with a gun in his face , how can ordell not agree ?
by itself , this premise might have been interesting enough to carry the film .
however , we are also introduced to a number of double crosses which make us pay attention and think .
jackie claims to be bringing the money in for ordell , but she 's also making a deal with the feds as well as with max .
the film throws us off every once in a while by leading us to believe the deal we thought was authentic is actually a sham , but it is in no way done to the extent that we feel jerked around .
instead , it 's actually a nice departure from the predictability which is prevalent in so many of today 's movies .
at least this film has a little imagination .
most of the performances in jackie brown are above par .
pam grier , of whom i had never taken notice before , plays jackie with a mix of confidence and vulnerability which makes her character believable .
samuel l .
jackson has a kind of mesmerizing quality about him as he handles himself in situations where you know he is in total control .
robert forster is thoroughly likable because he comes across as such an honest guy , trying to do his best . .
never mind that he belongs to a profession where sneaking into a guy 's apartment to zap him with a stun gun is simply a matter of course .
he 's just so down - to - earth , the nature of his job really does n't occur to us , even when we 're shown him bringing a handcuffed woman to prison , or when we see the tools of his trade .
in supporting roles are robert de niro as louis gara , a recently paroled friend of ordell 's , and bridget fonda as melanie , one of the girls ordell keeps around town .
unfortunately , de niro is basically wasted as his lines are few and far between , and then they are mostly clipped sentences .
in this film , he 's not really de niro , but stereotypical de niro , uttering things like , " little bit , " and " pretty much .
"
fonda , on the other hand , plays the slightly spaced - out melanie with satisfactory relish and cuteness , such that even when she is annoying louis , we are taking her side .
as is characteristic of any film in which tarantino has had a hand ,
the dialog is quick and snappy .
it grabs our attention and is actually interesting , and in many respects , this makes jackie brown a film which needs few visuals ; the lines are a form of art in and amongst themselves .
do n't count tarantino out when it comes to using the camera , however .
there 's a scene where max is unwittingly watching a dry run of a money exchange , and he 's not really sure what 's happening , but by composing the scene just so , his realization of what 's going on is felt simultaneously by the audience .
we look at the screen and think , " gee , that 's clever , " and then think the same thing about how the film induced us into that wonderful feeling of catching on .
although tarantino is n't afraid to drag out a shot for dramatic effect , it unfortunately works to varying degrees in this film .
there are shots where a character is simply driving , and we watch this person and somehow get an idea of what is going on in his or her head .
this is a tribute to both direction and acting .
however , there is at least one other scene where we follow jackie through a mall , and she is looking for something ; desperately looking for something .
we get the idea of the frantic nature of her search , but we follow her for so long that we end up not really caring about what she 's looking for , but instead hoping she 'll just stop .
overall , viewing jackie brown is time spent well .
some flap has already been made about the language used in the film , but it 's really not much worse than many of the other movies out there today .
in fact , one might even be able to say that the way in which these " offensive " words are employed almost cause them to parody themselves and therefore transcend their own offensiveness .
go see the film and see what i mean .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: one would think that david duchovny , star of the cult favorite " x - files " would be very careful in choosing his leading man cinema roles .
at least one would hope so .
one would be seriously incorrect .
eugene sands ( duchovny ) is a surgeon so dedicated to his craft that he becomes addicted to amphetamines to stay awake and work more .
it turns out to be a bad plan when he loses a patient and his license while under the influence .
ten months later , in a seedy bar to score synthetic heroin , the doctor gets a chance to ply his trade when assassins gun down a customer . using a plastic water bottle and bar tubing , sands operates and saves his life .
smalltime hoodlum raymond blossom ( timothy hutton ) is impressed with the cutlery skills on his associate .
he kidnaps and then offers down - and - out eugene a position in his organization .
blossom needs a doctor to patch up gunshot victims that would be problematic at a hospital .
sand 's temptation is that this will give him a chance to practice medicine again albeit illegally , big chunks of cash to fuel his habit and close proximity to the gangster 's womanfriend claire ( angelina jolie ) , this film 's babe factor .
the would - be big time operator is desperately in need of help .
on the run from russian mobsters ( the bad guys that seem to be all the rage in this year 's films ) and trying to cut a pirate software deal with the chinese mafia , blossom is surrounded by blood .
after a few medical misadventures , the physician grows disenchanted with his employment .
an encounter with a couple of psycho surfer dudes who threaten to blow him away unless he " fixes " their dead buddy cements his feeling that he is in the wrong line of work .
when the fbi visits and forces him to become an informant , there is no question that he needs to be somewhere else .
oddly enough , these seem like they could be exciting scenes .
the film disproves that assumption .
then a bunch of other uninteresting things happen .
writing this only two days after seeing the film , its a struggle to remember the events .
you can take that as a solid lack of recommendation .
for all the coolness that duchovny exhibits in " x - files " , it 's a surprise that his big screen presence is
so lacking in charisma .
the doctor is particularly bland and dull .
even the cold turkey bit which is rife with dramatic possibilities come across as banal .
a little chocolate and minor sweats get him through heroin withdrawal .
like virtually everything else in the film , it 's a missed opportunity .
the fox mulder detachment does n't work here .
oscar - winner hutton 's manic mobster is much more difficult to get a handle on .
played partially for comedy and partially as crazed killer , blossom almost becomes real , but then sinks into goofiness .
most of the time hutton looks as if he 's searching for his character and coming up empty .
jolie also makes a few false moves towards creating a three - dimensional human being before giving up and turning into scenery .
the most interesting aspect of her performance is watching her pouty lips threaten to take over the screen .
the rest are n't any better .
michael massee 's eccentric fbi agent never revs up .
one of blossom 's henchmen steals a few moments of the show as a quirky gunman reminiscent of val kilmer 's doc holliday in " tombstone " .
his two - gunned blasting as he does a bizarre dance is the high point of the film .
but that 15 seconds is n't worth sitting through the other 90 minutes .
first time film director andy wilson ( known for his work on the british television series " cracker " ) appears to be attempting to jump on the " pulp fiction " bandwagon .
the best of these movies combine a sense of style and flash with significant substance .
the second - rate ones concentrate on just one of these aspects .
" playing god " does neither well .
the basic idea of the film is solid .
and then it goes nowhere .
even worse , it plods back and forth , up and down a long and winding road before
it ends up nowhere .
fox fails yet again in his search for intelligent life .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: jerry springer has got nothing on " wild things .
"
john mcnaughton 's new thriller tackles more tawdry themes in less than two hours than springer 's notoriously sleazy talk show broadcasts in two weeks -- bisexuality
, threesomes , poolside catfights , slutty rich bimbos , even redneck gator - wrestling , they 're all part of the movie 's raucous , complex storyline .
but even trash
tv topicality ca n't drag " wild things " down -- this crazy campfest
plays like something you 'd find late - night on the usa network , only infinitely more palatable and with a solid ensemble cast .
despite a smattering of needless scenes ( most of them sexual in nature ) , there 's wicked fun to be had here .
" wild things " would be a guilty pleasure , only there 's no guilty feeling involved in having a good time with it .
high school guidance counselor sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) is well - liked in the town of blue bay , especially by pretty , popular kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , whose family name is among the florida yachting enclave 's most financially prominent .
hoping to take her crush to a physical level , kelly seductively slinks into lombardo 's house after washing his jeep for a fundraiser , but , the very next day , tearfully admits to her trollop mother ( theresa russell ) that she was raped .
before long , blue bay detectives ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin - vega ) are listening to similar allegations from kelly 's rebel classmate suzie toller ( neve campbell ) .
lombardo , who maintains his innocence , hires neck brace - sporting , opportunistic lawyer ken
bowden ( bill murray ) to defend him in court .
the previews give away the following revelations , so if you have n't seen any of the movie 's spots on the television or in the theater , you might want to skip to the next paragraph .
while cross - examining suzie on the witness stand , bowden gets her to break down and admit that the alleged rapes never took place -- that kelly had concocted this entire scheme because she was angry that lombardo was sleeping with her mother and not with her .
to pay lombardo for the damages , kelly 's mother breaks her daughter 's trust fund and gives him $ 8 . 5 million .
but lombardo , kelly and suzie are actually all working together , and plan to take the money and run as fast as they can .
duquette and perez , however , begin to suspect that there 's more afoot to the case than just false accusations .
if there 's a major drawback to " wild things , " it 's that it 's oversexed to a fault .
the much - talked - about hotel room menage - a - trois between dillon , campbell and richards is a turn - off .
it 's also cut short ( sorry , guys ) , and should have been cut shorter -- the movie grinds to a halt for pure titillation once too often .
what we do n't see is far more effective than what we do .
another example of this is kevin bacon needlessly going the full monty in a shower scene .
er , no thanks .
also , bacon 's duquette feels simultaneously underdeveloped and overwritten .
daphne rubin - vega , from broadway 's " rent , " tries to compensate for a superfluous character .
theresa russell is just plain wooden .
and when , in the end , all is out in the open , ask yourself if certain scenes involving these three were really necessary .
but what keeps the movie from being
throwaway junk is an engaging chain of surprises
( some predictable , some not ) that never seems to end .
" wild things " has more twists than a crate full of corkscrews , and most are so gleefully , over - the - top nasty that you ca n't help but be charmed by their absurd showmanship .
a great deal of amusement also comes from watching bill murray in a supporting part that appears to have been written for his sly comedic talent ;
murray 's a stitch , especially when pulling up beside the van ryan limo after winning lombardo 's case and flipping them off .
and do n't leave when the closing credits hit the screen , or you 'll miss the film 's best part -- four bonus flashbacks that smooth over plot holes while offering a few more tiny turns , plus a final scene that caps everything off with a great stunner of a bombshell .
speaking of bombshells , denise richards , who plays almost every scene in a blue bikini top , does the teen tease thing with a malicious allure that she was never allowed to flaunt in " starship troopers .
"
matt dillon flexes
his sleepy - voiced sex appeal , and pulls off personality changes with chameleonic precision .
neve campbell ,
lovely as ever except when sporting a blond wig , gives suzie a vengeful vulnerability that makes her the most interesting member of the conspiring trio .
re - edited and toned down a bit , the dynamics between these three actors could have carried the film to greater lengths .
but what we 're given works well enough .
" wild things " is highly entertaining and , indeed , very wild .

SOLUTION:
P