TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: " take a number , fill out a form , and wait your turn .
"
starring kati outinen , kari v ? ?
n ?
nen , sakari kuosmanen , elina salo ; written & directed by aki kaurism ?
ki
; cinematography by timo salminen it might be possible to call drifting clouds a satire or a black comedy , but that would imply a sense of anger , of vitriol , of energy ; drifting clouds is what you get when the rage and vitality are gone .
it is the sad , slow story of lauri and ilona , a married couple caught between the wheels of capitalism as it grinds inexorably onward .
he loses his job as a tram driver , because everyone drives cars nowadays .
within a couple of months , she loses her position as a head waiter , when her restaurant is bought out by a chain and the entire staff replaced .
a conversation early in the film reveals a lot about their situation .
lauri has surprised ilona by buying her a tv , which she greets with little enthusiasm .
she notes that they have n't finished paying for the bookshelves or the couch yet .
he says that in four years the payments will be done and then they can buy some books for the shelves .
it would pass as deadpan humour if it was n't spoken with such resigned weariness .
this sets the tone for the rest of the movie .
there is humour and idiosyncracy at the periphery , but at the centre there is frustration and futility , and sorrow for the ways in which the logic of profit reduces people , until their worth is equated solely with their earning capacity .
there is an element of political commentary in this critique of the mechanisms of capitalism and the stultifying social environment it creates , but in drifting clouds the political is subsumed by the personal : the movie is about two people and what happens to them , and nothing else matters .
lauri and ilona live lives starved for friendship , respect , culture , passion .
they go to the movies , and walk out past old posters for l'atalante and l'argent , but the movie they have just seen is a pointless , violent , unfunny comedy .
their house and workplaces are uniformly unpleasant , painted and upholstered in lifeless colours ( ugly greens , dull reds , insipid blues ) , full of inelegantly functional objects and appliances .
the art design is impeccable in its tawdriness , and director aki kaurism ?
ki often matches the colour of characters ' clothes with the background colour and/or lighting , so that it seems as if they are almost physically fading into the environment .
there is no suggestion of sexuality in the relationship ; ilona and lauri sleep in separate beds and their gestures of affection lack the heat of desire ; their lives are now bound by something more complex and desperate than love .
their downward , downsized , downtrodden lives have a momentum that is almost comic , as one setback succeeds another , bottoming out when lauri stakes all their remaining money on the spin of a roulette wheel .
it must have been tempting to play the story for more laughs , more farce , more deadpan wit , but the film 's great strength
is the sober , empathic manner in which it observes lauri and ilona 's misfortunes .
irony would be an injustice .
situations and settings are broad and exaggerated -- this is not realism -- but they are not distorted .
the emotions are authentic .
if it is difficult to laugh at anything that happens , despite the droll performances , the laconic humour , that 's because kaurism ?
ki brings such compassion and understanding to the manifold indignities that are suffered .
he shows us how humiliating it must be for a woman of thirty - eight , who has worked long and hard to win a respectable position , to be forced to accept a job as a dishwasher in a two - bit restaurant ; how humiliating it must be for a man nearing 50 to confront his wife 's former employer , demanding the rest of her wages , only to have the crap beaten out of him , unable to land a single punch , when the employer and his cronies refuse to give him the money .
all this is observed keenly , with great economy : every cut , every line of dialogue , is judicious .
if most films are novelistic in their telling , this one brings the focus and concentration of a short story to bear .
but what is gained in nuance and acumen is rather undermined by the sense that the material barely accommodates the 96-minute running length .
i have seen many movies far less profound , less humane , less necessary than drifting clouds , but they filled me with an urge to watch them again , and this one did not .
it does not need to be seen twice : its every detail and implication can be absorbed in one viewing .
it is not a movie that will be seen by a large audience , because it can not be pitched to one .
there is no selling point .
it is all understatement , restraint , melancholy .
the characters are unremarkable , their best years behind them , their dreams dissipated ; it takes all the effort they can muster just to pay the bills .
this does not make them less fascinating , merely less marketable , which is a shame , because this is a movie which should be seen , precisely because it pays attention to people and emotions that most movies prefer to ignore .
it engages us and touches us and resolves -- surprisingly , and movingly -- into something resembling a happy ending .
the only thing greater than the ill - luck that governs the characters ' lives is their refusal to give in to despair .
their persistence is rewarded with what might be called a " feel - good " ending elsewhere , but not here , because this ending differs in kind from most such endings : this one has truly been earned .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: well , i know that stallone is 50 years old now , but in daylight he does n't look it !
daylight is a great disaster movie . if you 've seen cliffhanger , you 'll know stallone 's character already .
a guy with a bad past , but is in the right place at the wrong time .
a tunnel connecting new york and new jersey has both sides collapses when a group of robbers collide with a truck carrying * very * flammable toxic waste .
a dozen or so people survive the collapses and the incinerating fireball ( and what a fire ball it was ! )
stallone , a former emergency medical service man , is chauffeuring a rich couple around , when they reach the outside of the tunnel , before the explosion .
then , 30 minutes into the movie , boom !
>
from here on , the plot takes a back seat , and we are treated to some of the best camera work and action staged .
most all the action is plausible and will hold you at the edge of your seat .
there are a few melodramatic parts here , but , they tend to work out well .
there is no general antagonist in this film , but the action and suspense makes you forget all about that .
daylight is a great film
, i saw a non - matinee showing of it , and i thought it was worth every penny .
the characterizations are mostly flat , one dimesional , but they have enough in them to get you to care for some of the characters .
rob cohen ( dragonheart )
does a great job with this film .

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: gothic murder - mystery yarns are not a new conceit .
in fact , they 've been around in books and on film for many , many years .
without the proper handling , they come off as old - fashioned , bland , and outdated .
"
the gift , " directed by sam raimi , is a tried - and - true effort that surprises very little , and includes everything from a wide array of suspects and red herrings , to mansions in the deep south with moss trees out front , to the eventual discovery of a waterlogged corpse found in a nearby pond .
it 's fairly obvious who the killer is ;
in fact , i predicted who it would be before the movie began and was correct in my preliminary suspicions .
the film ultimately should n't work , but it does , thanks to a sparkling cast that fills each character with so many memorable nuances , the most fun to be had is in simply watching the people interact with each other
.
annie wilson ( cate blanchett ) is a recently widowed mother of three sons who makes her living giving psychic readings to the residents of her backwater southern hometown .
some of her mainstay clients include valerie barksdale ( hilary swank ) , who is severely abused by her husband donnie ( keanu reeves ) , and buddy cole ( giovanni ribisi ) , an unstable mechanic who is confused by the nightmares he 's been having about a mysterious blue diamond that is somehow linked to his father .
for annie , she does not give the readings merely for money , but uses it as a way of seeking solace in finding the good in everyone 's future .
her late grandmother ( rosemary harris ) told her as a child that it was a gift she was given , and she should always remember that .
when annie 's eldest son is involved in a fight at school , she meets the nice - guy school principal , wayne collins ( greg kinnear ) , whom she finds herself attracted to .
but wayne is engaged to the wealthy jessica king ( katie holmes ) , whom annie immediately gets a negative vibe about .
at a party with her best friend linda ( kim dickens ) , annie stumbles upon jessica in a compromising position with lawyer david duncan ( gary cole ) .
soon after , jessica has disappeared , leaving everyone in a frenzy over what could have possibly happened to her , and annie starts to have nightmares and apparitions linking jessica with the vicious redneck donnie barksdale , and the pond behind his home .
"
the gift " may be cliched on a sheer storytelling level , but the performances and tight direction from raimi ( who has redeemed himself for his embarrassing last film , 1999 's " for love of the game " ) lift the picture up several notches .
slowly enveloping the viewer into the many intriguing characters and their individual plights , the disappearance of jessica at the 30-minute mark divulges the movie 's true intentions and transforms the proceedings into a taut , at times frightening , horror - mystery .
at the center of the film is the exceptional cate blanchett ( 1999 's " the talented mr .
ripley " ) , who turns annie wilson from what could have been little more than a run - of - the - mill protagonist into a very exact , down - to - earth , realistic person with valid troubles and a caring attitude towards those around her .
blanchett takes the unextraordinary material and runs with it , giving the entire film a truly classy aura that it otherwise might not have had .
we follow her at every turn because she is so mesmerizing , both as a character and an actress .
blanchett is n't the only bright performer , as she is ably supported by one of the best casts of the year .
in her first role following her oscar win for 1999 's " boys do n't cry , " hilary swank is excellent as the confused valerie , who seeks guidance from annie , but is too scared to take her biggest advice of all : to leave the grossly abusive donnie .
as donnie , keanu reeves ( 2000 's " the watcher " ) makes an utterly convincing backwoods meanie , so much so that it is difficult to believe he is an actor at all
.
for the often - criticized reeves , whose acting abilities have never been the best , this is the biggest compliment he could possibly get , and it is also one of the better performances he has given .
giovanni ribisi ( 2000 's " the boiler room " ) is heartbreaking as a mentally slow young man who sees annie as his only friend , and wants her to do nothing but help him understand why he is being plagued by bad dreams about his dad .
in the small , but pivotal role of the sleazy jessica king , katie holmes ( 2000 's " wonder boys " ) has turned in yet another stunning supporting turn .
her promiscuous role of jessica is one she has never played before , and
she is radiant in her few scenes .
finally , kim dickens ( 2000 's " hollow man " ) makes her usual strong impression as annie 's spicy best friend , linda .
the other notable aspect of " the gift " is its moody atmosphere that lays such a thickly foreboding air over every scene it 's almost suffocating .
thanks to cleverly construed editing by arthur coburn and bob murawski , and the successful use of different eerie sounds effects and a very good music score by christopher young , the movie not only achieves a scary undercurrent , but one that is filled with dread . helped along by a strong screenplay by billy bob thornton and tom epperson , which makes the most of its setting and delightful cast , " the gift " is
that rarest of thrillers that actually thrills , and offers up a fair share of chills , too .
it may not be groundbreakingly original , but it sure is an entertaining ride for the duration of its running time .

SOLUTION:
P