Teacher: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
Teacher: Now, understand the problem? If you are still confused, see the following 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 )
Solution: N
Reason: The phrases used in the review convey a negative sentiment (e.g. "presents it in a very bad package").

Now, solve this instance: every once in a while , a film sneaks up on me and takes me completely by surprise .
i do n't necessarily mean in terms of quality ; rather , i 'm referring to the mere knowledge of its existence .
usually i know what films are on the way a year in advance , but two weeks ago i had never heard of princess caraboo .
it has slipped rather quietly into limited release , and appears destined to slip out just as quietly .
that 's a shame , because princess caraboo is a delightful fable , romantic , gentle and very appealing .
what 's more , it 's surprisingly insightful and provides a sharp - witted lesson in english social history .
princess caraboo is based on an actual event in early 19th century england , involving a young woman ( phoebe cates ) who is found wandering the countryside .
apparently unable to speak any english , she is taken in by good - hearted gentlewoman mrs .
worrall ( wendy hughes ) .
her banker husband ( jim broadbent ) is none - too - pleased about this strange houseguest , until the worralls begin to believe that the woman may be royalty from an east indian island , the princess caraboo .
this development inspires plans for a lucrative trading venture for mr .
worrall , and an introduction into elite social circles for mrs .
worrall .
however , local journalist john gutch ( stephen rea ) is not convinced that the woman is what she seems to be , and sets out to find out the truth about princess caraboo .
as a social satire and comedy of manners , princess caraboo is a winner .
it takes place in an era when it was common practice in england to jail vagrants and hang beggars , and that practice comes in for an obvious hazing .
but it is handled most effectively through the character of mr .
worrall , a drunken womanizer whose bank is in deep trouble thanks to his corruption and ineptitude .
he is worse than one of the idle rich ; he is one of the actively odious gentry so eager to distance themselves from the lower class they think nothing of simply eliminating them , and since the house and money are all from mrs .
worrall , he is a bit too close to them for comfort . while hypocrisy is an easy target for ridicule , director and co - writer michael austin keeps the treatment too light - hearted to be heavy - handed .
he also takes a unique stab at the trendiness of the upper classes , as the princess becomes a " sensation " at court .
in one of the film 's best sequences , princess caraboo is the guest of honor at a party hosted by the prince regent ( a wonderfully foppish turn by comic john sessions ) , and the lords and ladies end up following her around in a thoroughly silly native dance .
it is then that princess caraboo shows how easily people are swept up in " sensations , " an idea that takes on a timeless quality ( and makes the film an interesting companion piece to the current quiz show ) .
social commentary aside , princess caraboo is simply an eminently enjoyable entertainment .
the performers are mostly delightful
, particularly phoebe cates , who is radiant in a part that requires a gift for pantomime .
her supporting players are also appealing : wendy hughes as the patient and kindly mrs .
worrall
; kevin kline as frixos , the worralls ' suspicious and superior greek butler ; stephen rea as the world - weary but ultimately romantic gutch .
only john lithgow is a disappointment , turning in a limp performance as a scholar who attempts to verify the princess 's identity .
the story twists and turns just enough so that the question of whether or not the princess is really a princess is always in some doubt , without becoming gimmicky .
it is unfortunate that the growing attraction between gutch and princess caraboo is n't given more time to develop , because the potential seemed to be there .
when it finally does blossom , it seems too quick to be plausible .
princess caraboo is patient enough in establishing its sense of time and place that it might seem a bit slow to viewers seeking a fantasy romp .
still , it has both escapist and intellectual appeal , and is well worth seeking out .
it is the kind of film that makes my job its most rewarding -- a hidden gem .
Student:
P