TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: if you 're into watching near on two hours of bored , foul - mouthed florida teens having sex , doing drugs , having sex , listening to eminem , having sex , playing video games , having sex , and killing one of their peers , then " bully " 's for you .
based on jim schutze 's novelization of a true - life event , " bully " charts the story of a handful of disenchanted teenagers who , in 1993 , murdered their high school bully in cold , calculated blood .
the film could have provided fascinating insights into what turned these aimless kids into premeditated killers .
in the hands of controversial director larry clark ( " kids " ) , however , it has less to say about its subject matter and more to say about the filmmaker 's pornographic proclivities .
in terms of the incident and what provoked it , " bully " stirs up nothing new .
the high schoolers are presented as a uniformly screwed up lot -- bored with life , not much ambition , promiscuous , profane .
the bully in question , bobby kent ( nick stahl ) , is certainly an unpleasant piece of work
but he does n't exactly tower over his colleagues in the pathological department .
he hounds and harries and humiliates his " best friend " marty ( played by brad renfro ) and marty 's girlfriend lisa ( rachel miner ) does n't care for it at all and comes up with the idea of killing bobby .
simply remove him from the equation .
marty and lisa and a handful of their promiscuous , profane , and stoner friends , plus a recruited hit man ( ? ) , lure bobby to a swamp one night , stab him , beat him over the head with a baseball bat , and dump him into the canal where the sand crabs and the gators , presumably , finish him off .
there 's no remorse --
the next day they 're talking about it as openly as a homework assignment .
they did it because they wanted to , and because they could .
what 's most troubling about the film , however , is n't the unsettling subject matter and the matter - of - fact way these young people go about eliminating one of their own but the way in which clark is constantly distracted by his own material
.
not only is the nudity plentiful and graphic in " bully
" but there 's also an uneasy , exploitative feel to it .
gratuitous crotch shots abound ( one of which makes the zipper cut - away in " there 's something about
mary " look like the height of subtlety ! ) .
clark is so pre - occupied with his female ( predominantly ) leads that
you forget , at times , what this movie is supposed to be about .
the stripping bare , literally and figuratively , of these actors ( who are , after all , playing underage teenagers ) becomes harder to watch over time , as you begin to feel for them and question the motives of the man behind the camera .
the conclusion of " bully " offers up literal snapshots of information about the sentences imposed on each of the protagonists for their involvement in the crime .
it 's a short sequence of stills -- heather : 7 years ; ali : 40 years ; lisa : life imprisonment , for example -- but it 's infinitely more telling than the 110 minutes of rampant unpleasantness that precedes it .
"
bully " aims for truth , exploits it shamelessly , then bludgeons it to death .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: in double jeopardy , the stakes are high .
think of the plot as a rehash of sleeping with the enemy , and then rearrange the details and the gender of the stalker .
the finished product , although able to maintain the viewer 's attention , is
a predictable and unexciting thriller with an idiotic script .
` alex , i 'll take homicide for $ 400 . . . '
libby parsons ( ashley judd ) is a happily married mom leading a normal life .
one night , her husband nick ( bruce greenwood ) takes her out for a romantic escape on a sailboat .
libby awakens in the middle of the night to find she is covered in blood and nick has strangely disappeared .
she follows a trail of bloody footprints up to the deck , where she handles a fallen knife ( like any stupid character ) and is spotted by the coast guard , who are responding to a distress signal sent earlier in the evening .
nick is presumed dead , and although she pleads her innocence , libby is tried and convicted for the murder of her husband .
now , please do n't think i 'm spoiling any vital plot details , because the informative trailer has already spilled most of the beans . if you have n't seen this preview , do n't read any further .
but seriously , the inane screenplay by douglas
weisberg and douglas s
.
cook is so elementary that the average viewer will be two or three steps ahead of the characters .
during the most vital scenes in the movie , i was anticipating every twist or ` surprise ' that eventually popped up on the screen .
i imagine the writers presume their core audience for double jeopardy is a very naive group of individuals .
most , unfortunately , will be too distracted by the moronic plot to appreciate the few positive aspects of the production .
one is tommy lee jones , who plays travis lehman , a parole officer given the tedious task of watching over libby after she serves her sentence in prison .
jones is always wonderful as an authority figure , and he 's certainly familiar with this sort of role ( as he played so well in the fugitive and us marshals ) .
judd , as a likable heroin with gusto , also has a chance to flex her acting abilities .
while emotionally unconvincing , the actress is tremendously fun in her juvenile role , perking up the movie like an injection of anti - depressant .
the actors , and their relationship together , present the one - two punch that prevents double jeopardy from derailing itself entirely .
and now , back to the plot .
while behind bars , libby learns an interesting little bit of information : a person ca n't be convicted of the same crime twice .
this law , called ` double jeopardy ' , could be her motive for hunting down her husband .
.
. who may still be alive .
yes , you heard right .
the movie degenerates into a cross - country chase , where everything you expect to happen . . .
does .
the final scenes , which could have redeemed the film , are poorly handled by director bruce beresford - whose previous work centers highly around drama ( driving miss daisy , paradise road ) .
ironically , it is those elements - like the driving force of libby to reunite with her son - that do n't quite work here .
at least double jeopardy is paced well enough to satisfy diehard fans of the two stars .
unfortunately , jones lacks some of the edge that he had as sam gerard in the fugitive , and the real depth of his character is only skin deep .
but he and ashley judd are more than welcome considering the material , and both have some memorable comic moments .
judd , in particular , has a hilarious scene in which she wards off an oncoming male by explaining she has to check in with her ` parole officer ' .
hmmm .
. .
perhaps this would have made a good comedy .
it is disappointing , because there are the makings of a competent action film here .
it 's nicely shot and choreographed in downtown vancouver , and will entertain those who are n't turned off by the woeful story - line .
?
tis a shame that double jeopardy is an adult thriller that would n't fool most children .

SOLUTION: N

PROBLEM: earlier this year , the movie holy man opened to a meager box office receipt and to indifference from audiences and critics .
a real charmer of a movie , it 's possible that the subject matter was too hip or trendy to attract any real audience .
now , at the end of 1998 , comes waking ned devine , a comedy which inspires the same vein of easygoing laughter .
there 's no substantial difference between the two other than a more refined atmosphere -- they strike all the same chords -- but still , ned
devine is a movie worth seeing .
the plot is interesting and robust : the latest lottery winner is ned devine ( jimmy keogh ) , of tullymore , ireland .
ned 's prize is over six million pounds , but the shock of winning killed the poor old man , and the check remains unclaimed .
enter jackie o'shea ( ian bannen ) and michael o'sullivan ( david kelly ) , the only two residents who are aware the winner is in their village .
the two men eventually find the ticket , and decide that if michael can convince the lotto authorities that he 's actually ned , the entire town can reap the benefits ; their only adversary is an ancient old woman ( eileen dromey ) who sees more profit in reporting the fraud .
ian bannen and david kelly truly shine as jackie and michael .
jackie , stocky and large , is the brains behind the operation ; michael , scrawny and short , is the method man .
the two contrast each other delightfully , and at the same time remain sympathetic to the audience .
every viewer is sure to like both of them .
there are other minor subplots included as well , such as an unlikely romance between a local girl and the town pig farmer .
this appears quite inconsequential until the end , and even with a startling revelation it 's a tad bit unnecessary .
overall , waking ned devine has a predictable outcome , and plot twists are never really taken seriously .
the ending , a very hilarious and very ironic twist of fate , somehow fits with the twisted sense of humor the movie exhibits throughout .
the kirk jones script is indeed off - the - cuff .
in a way , waking ned devine is exactly like the class of people it presents : warm , friendly , outgoing , and jovial .
it 's the perfect kind of comedy , a real gem of a tale that sets up a trivial plot outline by which to introduce a sympathetic cast of characters and a string of jokes
.
there 's nothing remotely serious or grounded for more than a moment or two , because the spirit of ned devine is a lighthearted one .
indeed , it 's one of the year 's best feel - good movies -- 91 minutes of unrestrained joy that no one should miss .

SOLUTION:
P