In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
One example is below.
Q: 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 )
A: N
Rationale: The phrases used in the review convey a negative sentiment (e.g. "presents it in a very bad package").
Q: the year is 1962 and the military is conducting nuclear testings .
involved in these tests is hank marshall ( jones ) , an army colonel who is critical of the above - ground tests that are being done .
he urges below - ground tests which no one will consider at the time until it is learned that the soviets have conducted underground tests of their own .
marshall is also troubled by a turbulent marriage to carly ( lange ) who is topless on the base 's beach in full view of the entire personnel .
hank 's reaction is one of amusement .
he 's been here before and he deals with it in the only way he knows how .
the problem is carly is a manic - depressive and when she is n't flirting with any man who happens to be near her , she 's fantasizing about a fictious world where she 'd rather be .
typical of the mental illness , she also is promiscuous and foul - tempered .
the mood swings are quick and violent and the torment she puts her husband and their two daughters is considerable .
from hank 's reports which state his opposition to the army 's methods of testing , he is transferred from hawaii to alabama .
carly patterns herself after movie stars and tries to become marilyn monroe , bleach - blond and all .
the new home in alabama is pretty run - down and depressing and sets carly off on a violent tantrum .
after meeting his new commanding officer ( booth ) , hank sees an all too familiar pattern begin to repeat .
carly openly flirts with the co .
hank tries to deal with the situation , but his only resort is to carry her off and throw her into a nearby pool .
arguments ensue .
the family becomes even more alienated .
the co is very interested in pursuing an encounter with carly and sends hank off to observe an underground test which causes the irradiation of two local ranchers , much to the vocal objections of hank , who spots them but is unable to cancel the detonation of the bomb .
back at home , the two girls try to hold things together but they wonder why their father ca n't deal with their mother 's problems .
one daughter says , " he 's blind and she 's crazy .
"
the other answers , " they 're perfect for each other .
"
it reaches the breaking point when the older girl ( locane ) and a boy , the co 's son ( o'donnell ) see her mother and the co making love in an abandoned shed .
she forces her mother to tell hank and get it all out into the open .
hank returns home and finds his wife in the middle of a musical put on by the military wives , including the co 's wife ( snodgress ) .
he confronts the c .
o .
but not about carly .
he is upset over the coverup surrounding the accident during the testing .
a fight breaks out between the two when the co accuses hank of not being able to satisfy his wife .
hank is arrested .
what follows is manipulation and revenge on the part of the co .
he convinces carly to commit hank to a hospital for observation .
instead , they fill him with so many drugs that he can barely cope .
he foams at the mouth and can not even finish sewing a leather wallet as presents for his daughters .
carly is determined to free her husband from the clutches of the army and succeeds in doing so only by being the strong one in the family for the first time .
the film has an upbeat ending with hope that the family has found a way to deal with its problems .
the performances are solid throughout .
jones is sympathetic and loving and is most effective in those quiet moments when he tries to deal with his wife 's rage .
he comforts her and offers protection .
lange gives a strong and spirited portrayal of a woman on the edge who draws up the courage to try and put things right for her family .
amy
locane is very good as she fights to keep her family together while struggling with her own doubts as to whether she even should .
blue sky is based on the story of the stagner family .
the screenplay was written by rama laurie stagner ( with arlene sarner and jerry leichtling ) .
the film marks the final work of tony richardson who died shortly after its completion in 1991 .
he had made such classics as look back in anger ( 1958 ) and tom jones ( 1963 ) .
orion pictures underwent bankruptcy and caused the film to sit on a shelf for three years .
the film joins an alread promising fall line - up of films and is well worth catching for the performances alone .
A:
P