In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
One example is below.
Q: plot : two teen couples go to a church party , drink and then drive .
they get into an accident .
one of the guys dies , but his girlfriend continues to see him in her life , and has nightmares .
what 's the deal ?
watch the movie and " sorta " find out . . .
critique : a mind - fuck movie for the teen generation that touches on a very cool idea , but presents it in a very bad package .
which is what makes this review an even harder one to write , since i generally applaud films which attempt to break the mold , mess with your head and such ( lost highway & memento ) , but there are good and bad ways of making all types of films , and these folks just did n't snag this one correctly
.
they seem to have taken this pretty neat concept , but executed it terribly .
so what are the problems with the movie ?
well , its main problem is that it 's simply too jumbled
.
it starts off " normal " but then downshifts into this " fantasy " world in which you , as an audience member ,
have no idea what 's going on
.
there are dreams , there are characters coming back from the dead , there are others who look like the dead , there are strange apparitions , there are disappearances , there are a looooot of chase scenes , there are tons of weird things that happen , and most of it is simply not explained .
now i personally do n't mind trying to unravel a film every now and then , but when all it does is give me the same clue over and over again , i get kind of fed up after a while , which is this film 's biggest problem .
it 's obviously got this big secret to hide , but it seems to want to hide it completely until its final five minutes .
and do they make things entertaining , thrilling or even engaging , in the meantime ?
not really .
the sad part is that the arrow and i both dig on flicks like this , so we actually figured most of it out by the half - way point , so all of the strangeness after that did start to make a little bit of sense , but it still did n't the make the film all that more entertaining .
i guess the bottom line with movies like this is that you should always make sure that the audience is " into it " even before they are given the secret password to enter your world of understanding .
i mean , showing melissa sagemiller running away from visions for about 20 minutes throughout the movie is just plain lazy ! !
okay , we get it .
. .
there are people chasing her and we do n't know who they are .
do we really need to see it over and over again ?
how about giving us different scenes offering further insight into all of the strangeness going down in the movie ?
apparently , the studio took this film away from its director and chopped it up themselves , and it shows .
there might 've been a pretty decent teen mind - fuck movie in here somewhere , but i guess " the suits " decided that turning it into a music video with little edge , would make more sense .
the actors are pretty good for the most part , although wes bentley just seemed to be playing the exact same character that he did in american beauty , only in a new neighborhood .
but my biggest kudos go out to sagemiller , who holds her own throughout the entire film , and actually has you feeling her character 's unraveling .
overall , the film does n't stick
because it does n't entertain , it 's confusing , it rarely excites and
it feels pretty redundant for most of its runtime , despite a pretty cool ending and explanation to all of the craziness that came before it .
oh ,
and by the way , this is not a horror or teen slasher flick . . .
it 's just packaged to look that way because someone is apparently assuming that the genre is still hot with the kids .
it also wrapped production two years ago and has been sitting on the shelves ever since .
whatever . .
. skip it !
where 's joblo coming from ?
a nightmare of elm street 3 ( 7/10 ) - blair witch 2 ( 7/10 ) - the crow ( 9/10 ) - the crow : salvation ( 4/10 )
- lost highway ( 10/10 ) - memento ( 10/10 ) - the others ( 9/10 ) - stir of echoes ( 8/10 )
A: N
Rationale: The phrases used in the review convey a negative sentiment (e.g. "presents it in a very bad package").
Q: " . .
it 's certainly more than just a monster story . .
" - kenneth branagh , director / actor / co - writer of mary shelley 's frankenstein .
kenneth branagh 's new motion picture had to compete with all the previous frankenstein - films made throughout the years in almost every part of the world , including the most controversial version of them all - directed by james whale .
the dark and stormy nights , the lightning bolts , the charnel houses of spare body parts , the laboratory where victor frankenstein stirs his steaming cauldron of life are effectful .
but the center of the film , quieter and more thoughtful , contains the real story .
horror - fans will probably be disappointed by the total lack of horror .
branagh has instead concentrated on serious issues : morality , philosophy and human elements of the story , and not on old fashioned horror cliches .
his version is much closer to the book than all the previous adaptions of the classic novel .
the film begins and ends somewhere in the arctic ocean .
the year is 1794 .
a bold captain is steering his ship through the unknown waters .
his gole is to reach the north pole at all costs .
as the ice closes around his ship , a figure appears on the horizon .
it 's a man .
exhausted and on the brink of death he approaches the frightening crew .
his name is victor frankenstein ( kenneth branagh ) and his story is so terrifying that it will scare everyone from venturing into the unknown .
the myserious stranger begins his tale , or more precisely his confession , in geneva , 1773 .
he is remembering his childhood and youth .
laughter , banquets and parties - a happy life , without troubles or concerns .
here victor lived with his father ( ian holm ) , mother ( cherie lunghi ) , his surrogate sister ( helena boham carter ) and his servants in happiness and harmony .
this idyllic lifestyle is suddenly changed .
like thunder from a quite sky , his mother dies , giving birth to his youngest brother .
shocked , baffled and then gradually changed by grief and despair , victor ( already interested in science ) becomes obsessed with death .
standing on his mother 's grave he says :
" oh mother . .
you did not have to die . . .
no one should ever die . . .
i will stop this . .
i promiss . .
" after proposing marridge to his surrogate sister and promising to return as soon as his studies are finished , victor travels to ingolstadt , in presuite of a medical career .
after a while his obsession totally overtakes him as he is working day and night , creating life from death .
composing dead bodies , frankenstein wanted to create the perfect man - both physically and mentally .
with strong electrical impulses , he managed to breeth life into his creation .
the result was ugliness .
realizing what he has done , frankenstein tried to undo his work , but it was to late .
the creature has escaped . because of the epidemic , frankenstein hoped that his creation has died and returned to his home , making plans for the wedding .
for a while everything is as it was before his mother 's death .
but then one by one his loved once are dying mysteriously . . .
whale 's picture , although powerful , never managed to capture the total depth of the novel .
brannagh has more or less done that .
another thing is characters and actors .
branagh has developed every character and assembled a magnificent cast .
the greatest performances comes from de niro - the monster , that has been played by ( among others )
charles ogle , karloff , lon chaney , bela lugosi , glenn strange , christopher lee , fred gwynne ( as herman munster ) , and now , robert de niro .
alone , hated and feared , he is completely aware of his ugliness .
at first he is like a helpless , abandoned child , desperately reaching out for love .
later when he reads frankenstein 's journal , and learns that he is composed of dead bodies , his love turns into rage as he is seeking revenge .
he is capable of killing without regret .
"
i took him by the throughout and lifted him off the ground . . . .
and then i slowly crushed his neck . . .
and as i killed him , i saw your face . .
"
that is how he reveals his savage nature to his creator .
and yet , he is never quite evil in our eyes and
his vaulerbility and his loneliness are palpable : " for the sympathy of one living being i would make peace with all .
"
rarely has a cinematic interpretation of " the daemon " approached the level of three - dimensionality and humanity with which it is portrayed in the novel .
another vital thing is the character of victor frankenstein .
in most of the previous adaptions he was simply a mad scientist that trolls the graveyards for corpses and then creates a monster ( god knows why ! )
with the power of an electrical storm .
almost no time was granted on his charecter , who is the most important and vital charecter in the novel .
here , branagh introduces the character of victor frankenstein , establishes his obsession with the very nature of life and death , sets up the intellectual and ideological conflict between victor and the academic establishment , and somehow manages to build up to a rousing and horrifying creation scene .
branagh plays frankenstein with a remarkable understanding of his character .
on the outside he is strong , ambitious and talented scientist , but deep down he is unsecure , fragile and vaulerble , constantly haunted by the ghosts from his past .
helen boham carter is equally wonderful as frankenstein 's surrogate sister , who at the end becomes his wife for a little while , before death drives them apart .
the rest of the cast , playing secondary characters , is solid and nothing less than convincing .
visually the film is stunning ( especially the makeup ) .
the spinning camera , the constantly building - up musical acore , the art direction , the production design , the costumes are all magnificent : from the arctic ocean to the swiss alps and dark forests , to the plague - riddled streets of ingolstadt , mary shelley 's frankenstein is a wonder to behold .
kenneth branagh directs his film as if the script was written by shakespeare : " . .
all i once loved lies in a shallow grave . . . .
by my hand . .
"
.
and the film ends exacly as hamlet , when the creature sets both his and his creator 's body on fire .
the film ends with frankenstein and his creation burning in the almost hellish fire in the darkness .
and a terrifying last close - up on the creature 's smiling face .
can a man create life , then abandon his creation because its appearance horrifies him ?
to whom are its actions then attributable : the creature or the being who brought about its existence ?
shelley did not answer these questions , but she certainly posed them .
following her example , branagh does the same .
his film is a tragic saga about playing god .
victor frankenstein is not an evil man .
he wanted to change the world to the better .
in this he represents everything science stands for : acting without doubts , never considering the consequences of his actions .
produced by francis ford coppola , frankenstein resembles in some respects coppolas previous film " dracula " .
in comparison , i can say that " dracula " has visuals that even " frankenstein " can not live up to .
but when it comes to story , characters and casting , " frankenstein " is stronger .
but stronger than both of them , on every aspect , is neil jordan 's " interview with the vampire " .
although the film is not perfect ( the camera that simply refuses to stay still and the occasionally pushy score are at times more tiering than effective ) , these minor faults are easily forgivable , as the picture is otherwise captivating and stimulating .
branagh has probably created one of the best ( if not the best ) adaptions of shelly 's classic novel .
A:
P