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: we share the descent into darkness of a talented boy pianist .
years later we see his subsequent resurfacing ; in the mid 80 's a damaged man walks out of a rainstorm and back into the world .
the movie charts the causes of his mental breakdown .
based on the life story of david helfgott , this australian film is a rich exploration of the pressures drilling in upon a child - genius , compounded by the looming shadow of a domineering father .
in the 1950 's helfgott emerged as a child prodigy .
the film traces his relationship with his father , whose encouragement comes at the cost of demanding david have no life beyond that of the black and white keys .
david is offered places in the usa , but his father refuses to let him leave australia .
the effect this has upon helfgott is cleverly told via a single reverse tracked shot ; david is sobbing on the front doorway of his music teacher 's house .
he is well lit via the external house lights .
his teacher is n't home .
we pull back and see that the dark front room 's window has it 's curtains open .
there , in a pool of blackness , is a grand piano .
david 's fall over the dark cliff has begun .
instead of being told in a linear mode , shine jumps around in time , ala " pulp fiction " .
this narrative device works well ; we see david as a boy , teenager in london and mental - patient in various snippets .
the film then neatly loops back for its uplifting conclusion .
adult - helfgott 's return to the light is told in linear fashion .
the lead role is played by 3 different actors , with the teenage - david ( taylor ) and adult - david ( rush ) standing out
.
whilst rush is known for his tv work in australia , i think this is his first major cinema work .
his david , whilst clearly damaged - he keeps quoting his " daddy " in a babbling word torrent , cuddles strangers and grabs women on the breasts - is both touching and funny .
taylor 's teenage - david is the more sympathy producing role .
we are mute witness to his gradual breakdown as the pressures just keep on building .
his father wants him to play the very demanding rachmaninov 's 3rd , whilst his teacher wants to start him with a simple mozart .
technically this is a beautiful film and a lot of thought has gone in to the production .
i particularly like the use of slow motion and sound effects .
one scene has adult - helfgott happily babbling in a car in the rain .
the sound of the windshield wipers fades up over his voice . with a clever subtlety , the wiper sound appears to morph into a rhythmic thumping , but of the same beat .
the image dissolves and we realise the thumping is the slow motion applause of a crowd .
but it 's us being clapped .
we are young - david walking up to the stage for our first public show .
the music , as you would expect from a film of this subject matter , is critical .
and it works very well .
the ' miming ' of the actors piano playing is faultless
( apparently rush did n't mime ; he really did play ) helfgott 's life is certainly not without it 's sympathetic people .
indeed his return to the ' normal ' world is accelerated by his chance meetings with two very special women .
his ultimately uplifting story is a magic piece of theatre craft .
it shows that with the ' help of god ' we can all find our way back home .
Student:
P