In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

[EX Q]: on re - watching italian writer / director dario argento 's much lauded murder mystery tenebrae , i was struck more than anything else by how many sins he commits as a storyteller and manages to get away with .
in emphasising style over matters of plot argento is somewhat notorious in cult film circles , but some aficionados still praise tenebrae as the greatest of his " giallo " murder mysteries .
while it 's certainly not perfect , repeated viewings reveal it to be nonetheless a densely plotted and terrifically stylish thriller .
the story follows a promotional visit to rome by famous american mystery novelist peter neal ( anthony franciosa ) where he discovers that a serial killer is on the loose inspired by his latest book " tenebrae " .
with the police on his back for leads , he decides to take a personal interest in the case and he soon becomes drawn into a mystery where all is not as it seems .
the film benefits enormously from a fine central performance by franciosa .
he brings grace , charm and a deceptive benigness to his character which provides an interesting foil to both the violence of the books he writes and the unfolding real - life horror around him .
the film is awash with a fascinating psychosexual tension .
argento peels back the facade of showbiz and jetset lifestyles to reveal an amoral , ambivalent , shadowy world where desire in all its forms has become a dangerous business .
tenebrae is perhaps the most multi - layered of argento 's scripts to date and there is much bubbling underneath the surface here .
it may take at least two or three viewings to appreciate all the psychological themes at play .
in that respect it strongly recalls his previous giallo deep red / profondo rosso ( the full - length italian language version ) and fans will enjoy spotting the recurring themes .
needless to say for argento fans , there is no denying the director 's brilliance as a stylist .
many of the action and murder sequences are directed with his characteristic finesse and feature plenty of intriguing camerawork .
they are all the more impressive for the fact that in this film argento creates mood by filling his scenes with light , rather than the dark shadows and deep rich colours of earlier works like deep red and suspiria .
instead , tenebrae 's set design and lighting paints a sleek , clinical , chilly vision of a vaguely futuristic urban world .
and the soundtrack 's mix of electronic atmospheres and gothic rock by frequent argento collaborators goblin is the perfect accompaniment .
so tenebrae has much to recommend it , no question .
still , constantly nagging at the back of this viewers mind is several lumps in the narrative .
some critics argue that logic does n't matter in argento films , but damnit , it matters in all films to the point where viewers do n't deserve to feel cheated .
by the way , if you do n't want to know the solution to the mystery then skip the next three paragraphs .
about an hour into tenebrae the story takes an unexpected twist which , properly handled , could have proved ingenious .
we witness the murder of the serial killer himself by a man who , we later discover , is none other than the author peter neal .
he is insane , apparently .
the murders then continue for the remainder of the film as neal decides it 's time to settle some personal business involving his neurotic wife .
he is finally revealed to us as this " second killer " in the film 's bloody climax .
but argento muffs the twist , both technically and narratively .
you see , we are supposed to be tricked into thinking that during this scene peter neal is actually an innocent witness who was crouching in the bushes nearby the whole time and spying on the killer 's house .
but thanks to poor editing , its had to believe neal could have murdered the killer anyway .
bad cutting puts the timing way out .
in other words , he 's almost in two places at once .
during this crucial scene we are also thrown a ridiculous red herring .
by the film 's end you realise that for the sake of an alibi neal must have self - inflicted a nasty injury in this earlier scene to make it look like he was attacked by a fleeing assailant .
the injury ?
he banged himself on the head with a bloody great rock !
thus , the revelation of the " hero " as a killer ( and anti - hero ) in the final scenes may still prove shocking , but its all somewhat implausible by the time the end credits have rolled .
helpfully , in the end we do learn that the bizarre flashbacks of personal humiliation and murder that have permeated the film belonged to neal all along .
but there too is a problem , as the explanations offered for his motivations are psychologically fuzzy to say the least .
the story owes us a better understanding of franciosa 's mind , his concealed madness and his sudden murderous rampage .
tenebrae is also marred by annoying little inconsistencies .
for instance , a teenage boy and girl leave a hotel room and minutes
later we see the girl riding off on the back of a motorbike .
we would assume the rider is the same boy , but it turns out to be some male character we are n't even introduced too !
that 's careless filmmaking , pure and simple .
why , you may ask , do i go on about the story 's flaws ?
because when it comes to visuals and set pieces , argento is one of the most exciting filmmakers in the world .
take one of the extended scenes in tenebrae .
an upset girl wandering the streets at night needlessly taunts a guard dog to the point where - almost unbelievably - it jumps a high fence and chases her across town .
finally , as she desperately seeks escape from this crazed canine , she accidentally stumbles on the serial killer 's lair .
it 's an absolutely masterful sequence , tense and exciting , and communicating a wealth of information through visuals alone .
and that 's exactly the kind of thing that makes the flaws so frustrating .
too often , it seems , argento 's films as a whole are less than the sum of their impressive parts .
mind you , if you love murder mysteries then tenebrae is still worth a look .
and if you 're a fan of argento 's unique style of giallo thriller then it 's essential .
see the uncut widescreen version if you can and drink in some of the wonderful cinematography by luciano tovoli .
it 's a stylish , great - looking and quirky film despite the problem narrative .
a shame , because it does n't have to be that way .
take argento 's more recent stendhal syndrome ( 1992 ) , where with the aid of co - writer franco ferrini he fashioned a solid storyline without sacrificing any of his surreal weirdness or visual panache .
proof that he can do it , if he tries . . .
[EX A]: P

[EX Q]: rated : r for strong violence , language , drug use , nudity , and some sexuality .
starring : wesley snipes , anne archer , michael chaykin , donald sutherland , marie matiko .
running time : 117 minutes directed by : christian duguay
i 've never fully understood wesley snipes 's career .
he has his ups and downs , but mostly the downs .
his best movie was one of the best of 1998 and that movie was entitled " blade " .
he has had his typical action movies , " boiling point " , " passenger 57 " , but his new movie " the art of war " should just be called " rising sun 2 : the art of war " cause basically it 's a semi - remake of the same plot , with a different cast , and forced to be a ridiculously unbelievable thriller , that is high on style and low on substance .
wesley snipes plays a james bondish type secret agent working for the u . n . after a chinese ambassador is killed , he is on the track of the killer , trying to find out who it is , how it happened , where the killer was , and what to do .
anne archer plays his " boss " type person of the u . n .
and she has hired snipes to track down the killer .
well snipes is mistakenly framed as the killer , and is now an outlaw , kidnapping a chinese woman with him , and having her help him along the way .
all this leads to a finale that is so dumb , and so stupid that is it unbelievably dumb , and the stunts , dialogue and acting
all ruin this movie .
wesley snipes is n't one of my favorite actors because of the fact that the character he plays in every movie is the same character he plays in the movie before .
the only good role snipes has really had was in 1998 's " blade " .
i walked into " the art of war " expecting a good , high octane thriller , and all i got was a pile of mush .
the only real ' good ' thing the movie has is action , and plenty of it , but i noticed it is badly filmed , the camera is so shaky you can not even tell what is going on .
the ending finale is so worthless and pitiful , that it even tries to mock " the matrix " , laughably funny , it is undeniably stupid .
christian duguay 's direction is also not that great .
his camera angles and sense of style are all in place , but sadly his lighting and editing are all badly done .
even the whole " matrix " ending was n't even good .
the stunts and action are badly filmed , and badly choreographed .
his placing of the characters , and the assination of the chinese ambassador , and the plotting of the movie are so predictable and laughable , that it just takes all the fun out of the entire movie .
anne archer who is usually good in her roles
, turns in a horrible job here .
she is sour , downbeat , and dreadfully dull with her forced dialogue , and dumb moves .
even donald sutherland as a co - star ca n't save this movie from being a bust .
so for an overall opinion : " the art of war " is a total waste of time .
it 's not entertaining , nor exciting , or even action packed .
it is a pointless movie , and makes absolutely no sense at all .
if you really want to see a good version of " the art of war " , rent the wesley snipes and sean connery action vehicle of the same kind " rising sun " , it is n't a great film either , but at least it 's better than this .
[EX A]: N

[EX Q]: true faith and its expression through organized religion is a difficult subject for a motion picture to tackle head - on , which is probably why so few of them do it .
even the most religious directors - like martin scorsese or ingmar bergman - usually address issues of faith in implicit rather than explicit religious terms .
so it 's not hard to see why it took robert duvall fifteen years to get " the apostle " onto the big - screen .
as a matter of fact , even after fifteen years he still never managed to get financial backing , and he ended up paying for it with $ 5 million of his own money .
he also wrote the script , directed the film , and starred as the central character , a fiery texas preacher named euliss " sonny " dewey .
few filmmakers have the courage and sheer audacity to take on that kind of financial , technical , and creative responsibility single - handedly , and it 's testament to
what an intensely personal project this was for duvall .
and , thankfully , every bit of that personal investment translates on - screen into power and honest emotion .
sonny is an energetic , pentecostal preacher who has been speaking ( actually shouting ) from behind the pulpit since he was twelve .
he spends much of his time traveling about the country , evangelizing with other preachers at tent revivals .
unlike most hollywood characterizations of intense preachers , sonny is not a phony or a swindler , and the film 's purpose is not to unearth hypocrisy and sin in either sonny or the church .
duvall makes it abundantly clear that sonny truly believes in what he says , although like all humans , he has weaknesses .
one of his weaknesses become apparent when he finds out that , not only does his long - suffering wife , jessie ( farrah fawcett ) , want to leave him for another man in the congregation , but the two of them have secretly plotted to remove him as preacher .
faced with the loss of two things
he loves passionately- his church and his family - that same raw power that allows sonny to get entire congregations rocking and swaying transforms into a violent temper .
at his son 's baseball game , sonny snaps and smashes his wife 's lover in the face with a baseball bat , inflicting a wound that may be fatal .
not knowing what else to do , sonny disappears .
he throws away his identification , drives his car into a lake , and takes a bus to louisiana , hoping to start over again .
in the tiny , mostly poor coastal town of bayou boutte , sonny once again finds his calling .
after befriending a simple auto mechanic ( walt goggins ) and tracking down the town 's ex - minister ( john beasley ) , sonny sets up his own church , the one way to heaven temple .
re - christening himself as " the apostle e .
f .
, " he quickly draws together an eager congregation , and together they realize real change in each other 's lives .
but , always , sonny 's past is lurking a step behind him , waiting to swallow his progress .
duvall has made his intentions in making " the apostle " clear .
in a recent article in " newsweek , " he wrote : " filmmakers hardly ever depict spirituality with such a strong emphasis on the holy spirit , and when they do , it tends to be patronizing - full of charlatans and snake handlers . . .
but what i really wanted to do was try to understand what these preachers go through and what they believe , and to portray it in an accurate way .
" the strength of duvall 's convictions turn out to be the strength of his film
- " the apostle " always rings true , even in the most painful moments , because we know he 's being sincere with the subject matter .
after fifteen years of traveling the country , listening to all shapes and sizes of ministers and taking studious notes on what they said , duvall has captured the energy and vitality of what it means to be truly spiritual .
his sonny is a man who speaks directly to god and expects to be spoken right back to .
"
i 've always called you jesus and you 've always called me sonny , " he says .
when neighbors call and complain that he is being too loud one night in one his rants with the man upstairs , sonny 's mother ( june carter cash ) just hangs up on them because she knows there 's no sense trying to interrupt him .
the main theme to emerge from " the apostle " is the fact that good can come from any situation .
sonny 's act of violence toward another human being is inarguably a horrific thing , and duvall never shrinks from that fact .
however , that very same act of violence is what brings sonny to bayou boutte , where he finds people whom he desperately needs and who desperately need him .
in his short time in louisiana , he does a world of good , and when the police finally show up to take him away , he goes quietly , knowing that he deserves the punishment that is awaiting him .
and , as a scene during the final credits shows , he even turns his punishment into a positive opportunity for change and betterment .
it is that strength in sonny 's character that makes him so appealing and magnetic to others - he is flawed , but he is powerful enough to overcome those flaws .
weak men are the ones who simply accept their weaknesses and lack the desire to better themselves .
watching duvall on - screen , it 's not hard to imagine that he would have been a magnificent preacher if he had chosen that vocation over acting .
as sonny , he completely inhabits the character , and his performance is certainly the best of the year . because he spent so much time absorbing the traits , methods , quirks , and personalities of real preachers , duvall was able to create a complete character who always feels indelibly human .
as a director , duvall feels that less is more .
his camera simply takes in what goes on in front of it , with very little intrusion .
there are no fancy crane shots or extended dollies or excessive close - ups .
duvall knew that the power of the film 's characters ( enhanced by the fact that he cast mostly non - professional churchgoers and actual ministers ) did n't need to be artificially enhanced .
in this way , " the apostle " almost plays out like a documentary , not only in its technical simplicity , but more importantly , in its sense of reality .
[EX A]:
P