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

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 .
N

the love for family is one of the strongest driving forces in any man 's life , especially for those who have fostered their family under precarious circumstances .
thematically in cinema , love for family has been used frequently and emphatically to highlight more abstract aspects of characters ; it is rare , however , for it to develop as outstandingly as it does in roberto benigni 's neo - classic drama , life is beautiful .
through a central cast of father , mother , and son , benigni demonstrates the wonderful , undying love that a family shares in the best of times and the worst of times .
life
* is * beautiful for guido orefice ( roberto benigni , directing himself here for the sixth time in his career ) , an italian jew , master con man , and aspiring waiter extraordinaire .
living in 1930 's italy , he lives a carefree life of good fortune ; it is made even better when he happens upon a pretty schoolteacher named dora ( nicoletta braschi ) .
although dora is already engaged , guido manages to sweep her off her feet and persuades her to marry him instead ; the two have a child named joshua ( giorgio cantarini ) .
unfortunately for the happy family , the third reich and its nazi minions occupy italy and imprison all jews in work camps .
it is after the movie takes this dramatic turn that the movie 's theme of family love becomes the strongest .
although prior to this turning point benigni plays guido with a sort of goofy charm , he relaxes the role to ensure his son 's happiness .
now , instead of awkwardly seducing the sweet dora , he constantly reassures his son that everything will be all right .
benigni 's performance is truly a well - rounded one , and certainly one of the more fluid turns all year .
the supports are all strong as well , but the movie truly excels in its script .
life is beautiful is a self - proclaimed fable , one which tells its story in grand , two - part fashion .
in certain parts it manages to sink to the level of a " saturday night live " spinoff -- a number of humorous skits connected by a token plot -- but in the movie 's second half the script 's circular nature becomes admirably obvious .
characters make reprise appearances in fine form , and certain events which are intially curious become critically linked to the plot 's outcome .
in all , fans of foreign film will see this as a memorable motion picture , and novice movie - watchers may take this opportunity to see their first " artsy " film .
life is beautiful is an artsy movie by convention but
easily accessible to everyone , and above all is a fine thematic picture .
P

the 1990s produced two brilliant science fiction films .
one was _ gattaca _ .
the other was _ the thirteenth floor
_ .
just as _ gattaca _ was overshadowed by the mighty _ titanic _ ,
_ the thirteenth floor
_ was relegated to obscurity by _ the matrix
_ .
however , _ the thirteeth floor _ , though it deals with similar themes , is a much better movie than the frenetic , childish and improbable _ matrix
_ .
a cutting edge computer scientist , hannon fuller ( played by the charming armin mueller - stahl ) , is murdered .
his associate , douglas hall , ( craig bierko ) apparently framed and suspected by the police , enters into the simulated world they have created in order to unravel the mystery .
along the way a beautiful blonde ( gretchen mol ) , more bodies , and a deepening mystery about simulated worlds complicate the picture .
_ the thirteenth floor
_ unfolds slowly and telegraphs its punches , choosing to elicit the more complex emotional response of empathy and anticipation rather than the cheap one of mere surprise .
the result is a movie that is a failure from two conventional points of view .
first , its plot revelations can be foreseen if one has carefully followed its complex storyline .
second and more seriously , it demands that its audience think and feel .
no wonder it fell through the cracks .
done in film noir style as a murder mystery , this is a relatively deep movie that functions on several levels .
many audiences will simply be bewildered by it , rather than engaged , which is a shame , because this movie amply repays a little emotional and intellectual investment .
i recommend a second viewing simply to get the flavor of the frequent ironic foreshadowing in the opening parts of the movie .
despite its philosophical challenges , _ the thirteenth floor _ derives its emotional force from the love story between jane fuller ( mol ) and douglas hall ( bierko ) , as well as the close friendship between douglas hall and hannon fuller .
in that sense it is more akin to _ gattaca _ than _
the matrix _ , which , for all of its cute philosophical byplay , is an adolescent movie with no emotional depth whatsoever .
the moment when jane fuller confesses her love for douglas hall is at once satisfying , wrenching and intellectually challenging .
in its final moments the film even takes on itself , when david , jane 's husband , who has come to enjoy killing , accuses her of being the sick one .
although there is a victory for the leading characters , this resolution suggests a disturbing element of fantasy in jane , and thus a deep - seated character flaw .
in fact , hannon fuller 's activities in the simulated world , the behavior of jane 's husband , and the effects of entering the simulation on douglas hall all hint at similar issues with those characters .
this is not a film of good people beset from without by great evil .
the tragedy is not in their stars , but in themselves .
the major actors , all of whom are required to play two or even three roles , perform extremely well .
bierko , who will be familiar as the psycho from _ the long kiss goodnight _ , is outstanding .
d'onofrio as whitney , who plays a pivotal role in support , also turns in a good performance .
the lovely gretchen mol , whose elegance , integrity , and determination suggest bergman in _ casablanca _ , does a wonderful job .
her voice , however , lacks the necessary weight at times .
this could be because she was given the worst lines in a movie whose major weakness is the script .
some minor flaws , hairline cracks in fine porcelain , appear in places .
there are one or two instances of jerky editing .
the script takes the edge off the film 's climaxes .
the atmosphere becomes too claustrophobic at times ( yet , there is a clue there too ) .
one wonders if even after two decades , _ blade runner _ is still casting its long shadow over sci - fi films .
one can see a group of suits in their suite , waving their hands imperiously at directors like the emperor in _ amadeus _ : " make it more
like_blade runner _ , you know , dark and rainy .
"
_ the thirteen floor _ is that rare exception among hollywood movies : a , rich , emotionally satisfying , intelligent sci - fi movie .
and yet , ultimately , it proves the suits right .
for when good sci - fi is made , where is the sf community turning out in droves to see it ? if we do n't support great sf , who will ?
P