instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
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without the proper handling , they come off as old - fashioned , bland , and outdated .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 .
answer:
P


question:
robert altman 's cookie 's fortune is that rare movie that does not depend on sentimentality to be uplifting and to make its viewers feel good .
it is a sunny , delightful , dreamy comedy , filled with lovely performances , skillful direction and topped off with an understated , clever , extraordinary script .
as this is an ensemble piece , it is forced to start of slowly as it introduces us to its characters , all of them residing in a southern town called holly springs .
first we meet willie ( charles s. dutton ) , an honest man with a slight drinking habit .
we then see that willie takes care of an elderly lady nicknamed cookie , who is slowly losing her grip on sanity and is being filled with loneliness , despair , and want of her dead husband .
we cut to camille ( glenn close ) who is obsessively directing a play with her sister cora ( julianne moore ) .
then we briefly get acquainted with emma ( liv tyler ) , an apparent relative of cookie , who is a down - but - not - out teen outcast , still full of love and hope even though she has no real place to live .
we also fleetingly see emma 's lover jason ( chris o'donnell ) , an ambitious but far too excitable young cop .
we are now about one quarter through the two hour picture , and robert altman decides that it is time to set the plot in motion .
we see the ecstatic cookie stare hopefully at a picture of her husband .
she exclaims " here i come ! " and then puts a pillow to her face and shoots herself .
soon after , her niece camille stops by to get a fruit salad bowl , comes upstairs , finds cookie dead and flips out .
convinced that suicide is a disgrace and that she will have none of that in her family , she eats the suicide note and convinces her slightly slow ( yet sweet ) sister that it was a murder .
she makes sure that she stages it like a murder as well ; scattering jewelry all over the floor , breaking a few cabinets , windows and doors , and then throwing the gun out in the back yard .
the only reasonable suspect is willie , who immediately gets taken into custody , and put in a jail cell
( they all know he did n't do it , so the cell stays open and he plays scrabble with the sheriff and the faithful emma ) .
meanwhile , the unperturbed camille continues her none - too - subtle manipulations trying to further cover up for the murder while at the same time making her easter play a success .
so begins cookie 's fortune , a film aptly described by critic scott renshaw as " a southern spin on fargo , " except that this one is far funnier and much more enjoyable than the coen brothers ' darker , somewhat disturbing and slightly overrated escapade .
robert altman 's slight picture is in some ways reminiscent of something like midnight in the garden of good and evil as well , in that both films focus ( on and off ) on the eccentricities of the residents in a southern us town .
indeed , most of the characters in cookie 's fortune are loads of fun to observe , and a portion of them are fascinating and surprisingly multi- dimensional .
glenn close turns in an insubstantial ( in terms of her career ) but magnificent performance
as the conniving camille and is also the source of a good portion of the many laughs that we enjoy in this movie , and she is perfectly cast as the prolific " aunt alexandria " character , endlessly obsessed with family dignity .
the equally essential role of willie is handled with an intangible grace by veteran thespian charles
s. dutton
( mimic , a time to kill ) there is nothing like a movie which leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy
inside hours , even days after the film ends .
cookie 's fortune is such a movie .
i loved the light , kindhearted approach altman ( whose last project was the dark , intense drama the gingerbread man ) took towards the tricky subject matter .
i enjoyed the talented ensemble cast .
i even liked the trite " in the south everybody is related to everybody " cliche that is inevitably employed by the time this movie draws to a close .
i 'm not sure
why cookie 's fortune had such an all - around pleasing effect on me .
perhaps it 's that good ol' southern charm .
answer:
P


question:
what 's to like about the world of extremely violent trash pornography -- ie .
the garbage known as " snuff " films ?
nothing
, right ?
what 's to like about a film chronicling the world of violent trash pornography ?
well .
. .
nothing .
so , why make it , hollywood ?
there 's no reason why the average , sane movie - goer will be interested in such a topic .
no one is going to enrich their life or have a good time by watching material such as this .
the lack of quality filmmaking in " 8 mm " ( from technical to acting ) stands out even more when you consider the star , writer , and supporting cast -- all reputable .
but joel schumacher and his brand of unlikable filmmaking strikes again !
like paul schrader , schumacher has his moments , but they 're few and far ( far ! )
between .
basically , this picture is crap and
no one should pay to see it .
why not walk out ?
well , this would n't be a thorough review about a thoroughly bad movie .
here 's why you should spend your money on dog food or gum instead of " 8 mm " . . .
first thing -- if you do n't heed my advice , then understand what you 're about to see before you even think about paying good money for this crud .
it 's not easy to watch .
i did n't know the details of the story beforehand , but at least my ignorance can help others now .
the ( ha ! )
plot revolves around tom welles ( nicolas cage ) as a surveillance expert and private investigator .
a rich old woman discovers a " snuff " film in her late husband 's safe .
she calls welles and hires him to try and find out if the young girl ( it had to be a young girl , did n't it , schumacher ! ) who appears to be murdered in the film really is dead .
she 's horrified that her husband would have owned such a film ( in 8 mm , of course ) and just wants welles to snoop around without police interference to see what he can find .
family - man welles agrees against better judgement or any concrete leads even after cringing and grimacing at the sight of the grotesque " murder " .
let me backtrack for a moment .
see , " snuff " films are pornos with a violent twist -- people are tortured in very sick ways and end up dead .
however , the deaths are often staged and , in those cases , special effects and " good " acting make all the difference .
very sick people enjoy and pay top dollar for these hard - to - find movies .
the thought of this " industry " makes me want to throw my computer out the window and stop this review , but i 'll swallow my bile and move on .
welles follows clues to hollywood and the porn industry .
you 'd think he 's sherlock holmes the way clues drop so easily for him !
he comes across smut clerk max ( joaquin phoenix ) who knows everyone and everything in the underground business of sleaze .
after a lot of digging and bribing , welles finds the men who are responsible for making this , and other , " snuff " films .
skip ahead , skip ahead , skip ahead . . .
led by dino velvet ( peter stormare in an uncharacteristically terrible performance ) and star - torturer " machine " ( christopher bauer ) , they have a big showdown with welles where death and mayhem ensue .
the movie does n't end there , unfortunately , because welles has to do what all heroes in schumacher films do -- become a vigilante .
this film does n't draw you in .
it keeps you about 700 miles away from it and who in their right mind would want to get close ?
it is possible to like a film that focuses on grime and sick behaviour
( ie . " se7en " ) , but it takes a large measure of restraint ( schumacher has none ) and a larger amount of talent ( schumacher has little ) . by those jabs , i 'm not only referring to his stylish destruction of the " batman " franchise , but " a time to kill " was an immensely overrated disappointment . for a guy who gets so much studio money , his track record of making rather bad movies is unparalleled .
a good screenwriter and a good director can make you hypnotically watch even disgusting subject matter .
writer andrew kevin walker did n't recapture the smarts of the fascinating script he authored for ' 95s twisted thriller , " se7en " .
director schumacher does n't have that innate ability to make you watch things you do n't really want to see like better directors are capable of doing .
he must not have believed hitchcock who espoused the theory that what we do n't see is more frightening than what we do ( especially when it 's a scene where young girl is supposed to be murdered ) .
however , gratuitous is joel 's middle name .
he must think that not flaunting a hard - core act of violent sex is showing plenty of tactful restraint .
no , he does n't go that far , but we see enough unpleasantness .
he does n't leave much to the imagination .
it 's manipulating to hurt ( or kill ) young girls just to get the audience on the side of a murderous vigilante .
the script and acting should be what gets us to believe in these characters , yet
schumacher has no subtlety in his ( ha ha ! )
craft .
case in point , a shot of a christian fellowship bus ( good , right ? )
drives away to reveal one of the villains ( bad , right ? ) .
see . . .
no subtlety .
does joel think we 're stupid or that we need to be held by the hand to comprehend the contrasting imagery ?
who do we root for in this mess ?
is there anybody out there ?
it 's not all the director 's fault , though .
why did the actors sign up for this ?
nicolas cage is an oscar - winner , for cryin ' out loud ! if he claims to do films to challenge himself and for the artistic merit rather than the money , what was he smoking when this script dropped on his veranda ?
what is cage supposed to be in this movie -- a whispering batman without the charisma and pointed ears ?
villainous peter stormare is five steps past hammy .
and what is james gandolfini doing in this trash
?
he was so solid as a concerned father in " a civil action " .
i guess ol' nic , pete , and jim were promised a mountain of money . . .
or they 're suckers .
or they just do n't care .
there are moments ( albeit brief ones ) where this rises above the wasteland .
catherine keener is good ( although too quick to threaten divorce ) as mrs .
wells .
baby cindy is obviously cute and wells ' devout love of his daughter is sweet .
the mother ( amy norton ) of the girl in the infamous 8 mm film is not too bad as a woman dealing with the uncertain loss of her runaway daughter .
this film has an appropriate blue - toned , washed - out look like " payback " ( which was a much better movie ) .
the editing is okay in scenes of no dialogue , but at other times it 's rough .
during some conversations , close - ups and wide shots are not cut very well , making it look to be editted by someone whose instincts are n't good and whose timing was a half - second off .
such a technical error indeed stands out .
speaking of standing out , do n't believe the misleading trailers .
there 's not much action here .
occasionally , yes , but not as often as your tv will have you believe .
after seeing " 8 mm " , i may not be interested in ever watching any kind of porn again .
is that a positive ?
well , if making me almost ill at the thought of glimpsing a dirty movie again is their motive , they 've done a swell job here .
it 'll be a long time before i give a schumacher film another chance -- unless i lose my mind and become seriously depraved .
but today i 'm not depraved , so i ask , why does this film preach that this garbage is out there and that society should be worried about it ?
i 'm sure that somewhere right now there 's some pretty sick crap going on , but that does n't mean i need to know about it .
yes , mr .
walker
, your script tells us that there are some screwed - up folks out there .
yes , mr .
walker
, the proverbial monster does n't look like we expect him to .
you said all that in 1995 .
move on .
this film serves no purpose .
it does n't entertain , it does n't teach us anything , it does n't make a statement beyond the obvious " this stuff is bad " approach .
only if this film awakens the authorities to find a way to abolish these types of horrors would it ever do someting truly worthwhile .
that 's not likely to happen , though , so " 8 mm " is indeed a scummy waste of money .
orson welles said years ago in a tribute to film , " to movies . . .
to good movies " . if only joel schumacher and the producers had listened and told andrew kevin walker to bury this crud deep in a hole .
like " snuff " films , " 8 mm " should never have been made .
now , excuse me while i go try to forget i ever saw it .
useless trivia --
joel schumacher loves the vigilante theme .
he used it in " batman forever " , in " batman & robin " , in " a time to kill " , in " falling down " , and it 's rumoured that joel himself will play the vigilante at his breakfast table tomorrow . . .
answer:

N