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: "
the tailor of panama " is a different kind of spy movie .
despite the presence of pierce brosnan , there is nary a hint of james bond flash here .
instead of big action scenes , leering super villains and empty - headed femme fatales , we get interesting characters and an intriguing situation .
based on the novel by john le carr ? , who also co - wrote the screenplay , the film offers viewers something rarely seen in theaters this time of year : a solid , well - told story .
brosnan plays andy osnard , a british operative walking on thin ice .
his british superiors ship him off to panama , making sure he understands that he had better not screw up the placement .
osnard arrives in the tropics virtually oozing contempt for his new co - workers and his new home base .
when shown the bridge of the americas by a person marveling over the fact that , since the creation of the panama canal , the structure is the sole connection between north and south america , he barely keeps from yawning .
brosnan clearly relishes the chance to be the antithesis of 007 , investing the suave spy with a distinct reptilian quality coupled with an air of indifference that irks his fellows to no end . searching for a way to get information on the government , osnard sets his sights on harry pendel ( geoffrey rush ) , an unctuous tailor serving the panamanian elite .
harry claims to be a transplant from britain 's renowned saville row , but osnard knows his secret : the tailor is an ex - con who served five years in prison after torching his uncle 's shop in an insurance scam .
he also knows that harry is up to his ears in debt , having spent a fortune on an unsuccessful farm .
osnard offers harry a way out .
he will pay for information harry has gathered from his upscale clientele .
eager to comply , harry offers what he knows , then starts concocting tidbits to keep the money flowing .
before long , he is forced to spy on his loving wife , louisa ( jamie lee curtis ) , an aide to the canal director .
harry 's little lies build , eventually taking on a life of their own .
osnard turns in reports about the " silent opposition , " a group threatening to upset the balance of control over the canal .
the bogus revelation proves explosive , leading to meetings in washington d .
c . over how to best protect the vital waterway .
meanwhile , osnard wallows in his newfound status , enjoying the best the city has to offer and wooing an attractive co - worker .
and harry grows ever more fretful , fearing the consequences
if his clients , not to mention his wife , learn about his lies .
geoffrey rush is wonderful as harry , fawning over his customers by day and savoring his rich family life in the evenings , all while playing secret agent in the off hours with his new benefactor .
rush makes harry a credible figure , presenting the various levels of the character so effectively that he remains sympathetic despite his duplicity .
after gaining fame playing larger than life characters , rush flips everything around for this role , using his energy to depict the quiet desperation of a man slowly realizing that the solution to his troubles may be worse than the original problems .
although she gets far too little screen time , jamie lee curtis imbues louisa
with a depth greater than the screenplay provides her . of the central characters , she is the only one that exhibits maturity and genuine self - confidence .
curtis is one of my favorite female actors ; whiplash smart , sultry and charismatic , she deserves more than supporting roles .
speaking of supporting characters , there are some great ones here .
harold pinter is amusing as harry 's uncle benny , who pops up throughout the story in a number of creative ways .
also shoring up the proceedings is jon polito as a corrupt banker and dylan baker , who is a riot
as a united states general straight out of the dr .
strangelove school of armed patriotism .
but the most important secondary performers are leonor varela and brendan gleeson , both outstanding as two wounded activists .
their presence adds weight to the story , reminding us that beyond the charades of the leading men , there are real people that have suffered greatly over the politics connected to the canal .
director john boorman adds additional verisimilitude by shooting the film on location .
instead of using panama city merely as a colorful backdrop , he adroitly weaves in footage of all aspects of life there .
the metropolis , described by one character as " casablanca without heroes " pulsates with life , underling the folly of the two foreigners playing dangerous games that could have a disastrous impact on a great many people .
"
the tailor of panama " succeeds because the principals behind it were bright enough to make it more than a simple entertainment .
Student:
P