Part 1. Definition
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
Part 2. 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 )
Answer: N
Explanation: The phrases used in the review convey a negative sentiment (e.g. "presents it in a very bad package").
Part 3. Exercise
romeo is bleeding wants to carry the unusual flavor of reservoir dogs or bad lieutenant .
with director peter medak , whose previous credits include the good films let him have it and the krays , and top - notch character actors gary oldman and lena olin , they seemed likely to be a successful combination .
those mentioned films , however , brought something to the screen that romeo is bleeding
did not : a solid , well - written screenplay .
call me cynical , but the jobs of writer and producer do n't seem to mix well .
gary oldman plays jack grimaldi , a good cop turned bad , selling information to the mob and cheating on his wife .
his cheating is obvious enough to obtain his nickname , although the name does n't provide any insight or analogy to the shakespearean character .
jack has become addicted to " feeding the hole " , a hole in the ground where he stores his payoff money .
when he realizes his colleagues are being shot , he feebly attempts to get out .
gary oldman 's performance is disappointingly weak ; he seems nearly bored .
in the process , he also gets tangled - up with mona demarkov , a russian mobsterette who wants to take over the territory from top boss falcone , played adequately by roy scheider .
demarkov , played by lena olin , is a tough but tremendously sexy woman with seemingly no problems maneuvering within the mob world .
this character is combination of both linda hamilton and arnold schwarznegger from terminator 2 .
i ca n't remember seeing a character quite like her .
after being shot , handcuffed , and thrown in the back seat of a car , she still manages to cause an accident , kick out the windshield with her legs , grab a suitcase full of money ( plus some important documentation ) , climb through the rubble , land on her shot leg , and still succeed at running for safety .
what a woman ! lena olin 's performance is the only glimmer in this dismal film .
anabella sciorra is wasted in her role as romeo 's wife .
there is little insight into her character .
she 's depressed , she makes obvious references , she mopes around the house .
juliette lewis , as romeo 's girlfriend , is treated with the same cliche attitudes , although ms .
lewis ' portrayal certainly did n't improve it .
both women were anything but sexy or attractive .
poorly developed characters aside , the screenplay also suffers from several logistical problems .
it is so discouraging to watch a film and want to shout at the main character ( not ) to do something .
for example , jack and his friends attend a funeral to hang in the background to scope - out the mob scene .
fine .
jack spots the big boss with his goons by the gravesite .
fine .
what does jack proceed to do ?
he brushes his friends off by telling them he is n't feeling well , then strolls over to the boss .
why ?
the boss had all ready threatened him ; falcone simply takes the opportunity to issue more threats by ordering his goons to take off some of jack 's toes by the gravesite .
i guess they were n't worried about any federal agents lingering around after the funeral . . .
.
or here 's another : demarkov set - up her own death by cutting off her arm with a circular saw .
she proceeded to set the place on fire .
would n't the flames burn off the fingerprints ?
are n't dental records more important ?
as bright and resourceful as she was supposed to be , could n't she come up with a better plot ?
( and it took her no time at all to get a good - fitting , functional prosthesis . ) lack of attention to detail
certainly adds up in a film .
this film does n't even add up the large details .
there is little or no consistency in the story - line .
not much makes sense .
the direction lacks cohesion , surprising from a director whose previous credits are impeccable .
the moods shift , the styles shift , and no one can seem to decide if it is a serious film or satire of one .
so while it certainly is n't reservoir dogs , it certainly is n't diva .
there 's plenty more to tear apart in this film .
my advice to someone who has n't seen it to to wait until it comes on video .
there are some quotable lines that would provide a campy evening if not taken seriously .
it 's not a boring film ,
just not a good one . or an intelligent one .
Answer:
N