In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
Example: 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 )
Example solution: N
Example explanation: The phrases used in the review convey a negative sentiment (e.g. "presents it in a very bad package").

Problem: dreamworks pictures presents a jinks/ cohen company production kevin spacey annette bening " american beauty " thora birch allison janney peter gallagher mena suvari wes bentley and chris cooper co - producers stan wlodkowski alan ball music by thomas newman costume designer julie weiss
film editor tariq anway chris greenbury production designer naomi shohan director of photography conrad
l . hall , a .
s .
c .
produced by bruce cohen & dan jinks written by alan ball directed by sam mendes
" both my wife and daughter think i 'm this gigantic loser .
and they 're right .
i have lost something .
i did n't always feel this sedated .
" with that piece of dialogue , we are fully introduced to lester burnham ( kevin spacey ) , a 42 year old man trapped within his own life .
lester works for an advertising agency .
his growing dissatisfaction with his job is only one of the mid - life crisis he is suffering .
estranged from both his wife and his daughter , lester starts to crack under the stress .
his life becomes nothing more than a series of mastubatory fantasies , and sullen apathy .
carolyn burnham ( annette bening ) , is the prototypical career woman/ homemaker .
she carefully tends her rose garden , decorates her home with the best furnishings .
but inside she is desperate .
unsuccessful at her profession as a real estate agent , she drives herself into states of denial and self loathing that only feed her growing resentment towards her family .
the third member of this anti - family is jane burnham ( thora birch ) , lester and carolyn 's daughter .
a young girl going through the typical stages of adolescence , but having to also come to terms with her families growing dysfunction .
this funny ( and frightening ) slice of life is refreshingly simple .
not one character is given less than is needed to identify him or her .
some of the most telling characters are those that serve to highlight other characters .
most notably is barbara fitts ( allison janney ) , the almost catatonic wife of retired marine colonel fitts .
she has almost no dialogue , and seems to be either recovering from a stroke or suffering from one .
colonel fitts ( chris cooper ) is an angry and frightened man .
his rage directed almost singularly at his son , ricky ( wes bentley ) who has just moved with his family to the same neighborhood as the burnham 's .
in fact they are the next door neighbors .
anymore detail into the personalities of these marvelously diverse characters would deprive one of the many pleasures and surprises to be had in " american beauty " .
alan ball , who was the co - executive producer of the hit tv series " cybil " and creator of the new sitcom
" oh grow up " , has fashioned one of the most insightful and expertly tuned screenplays to have hit the screen in the past ten years . not one character in this film rings falsely .
and the depth of personality in each , is achingly honest and insightful .
the plot detailing the last year in the life of a man as he tries to find his own self worth is so resoundingly cliched and at the same time original as to bring to mind such marvelous film work as " the graduate " or " lolita " .
kevin spacey turns in one of this years most pragmatic performances .
his lester burnham is an everyman caught up in the middle of a life that is spiraling into old age .
finally unable to deal with the lost soul that he has become , lester tries to return to his youth .
he quits his job ( actually blackmailing his employer for one year 's salary ) , starts smoking pot , fantasizes about his daughter 's girlfriend angela ( mena suvari , in a marvelous performance here ) , starts working out , and finally takes a job at the local fast food outlet .
mr .
spacey 's performance is so remarkably subtle and ingenuous , that we can be certain that come oscar ? time ,
we can be assured to see him name among the five nominees .
annette bening also turns in what may be the best performance of her career .
carolyn burnham is a woman who has become so insecure as to be caught up in maintaining the facade of normalcy . unable to cope with her growing disillusionment , she forces herself to maintain her demeanor , driving her further and further into desperation , adultery and possibly murder .
ms .
bening makes the character of carolyn so compelling as to be identifiable to almost anyone .
the slow and methodical turn from happy home maker to charnel house martha stewart is too frightening to express in words .
thora birch holds her own against the talents cast with her .
jane burnham is both an innocent girl caught up in what is a dysfunctional family , and a rebellious child ready to abandon them at any moment .
her growing distrust and isolation from her family is something that many parents should view as a warning .
she is the prototypical trophy child .
when carolyn praises her daughter after a performance by her cheerleading team ( " i 'm so proud of you , honey .
you did n't screw up once ! " ) , the bitterness and resentment are palpable .
thora birch is a young actress to watch
. praise must also go to chris cooper who brings yet another angry father role to life with depth and resonance .
colonel finn is a man in complete denial .
his military upbringing masking a desire he is too repulsed to even comprehend .
wes bentley as ricky finn is fine as the enigma .
the boy next door who may be more foe than friend .
a deceitful and calculating young man , whose voyeuristic proclivities mask a deeper and more profound understanding of life than any of the adults around him .
mr .
bentley 's performance is the one troublesome note in the film .
that is simply because the character is such a grand and complete liar , that one almost faults the performance for it .
director sam mendes handles all of the particulars of the cast and the settings with a sure and composed style that is neither intrusive nor subtle .
scenes of carolyn walking through the rain , carry an ominous fission that calls attention to the emotions of the character .
the subtle cinematography by conrad hall is wonderful , capturing the season in all of it 's harsh beauty
( fall has never looked so inviting , yet depressing ) .
every nuance of " american beauty " begs it 's audience to think and examine .
it is a film that will be discussed and debated for years to come .
and well it should , as
it is simply one of this years best .
Solution: P