In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
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 )
Example solution: N
Example explanation: The phrases used in the review convey a negative sentiment (e.g. "presents it in a very bad package").

Problem: plot : during a 10-week span in london in the fall of 1888 , jack the ripper , a man whose identity was never uncovered , committed five ritualistic , grisly murders of prostitutes .
this film is based on the graphic novel which assembled a theory behind the century - old mystery .
critique : awesome !
i love dark movies , i love stylish movies , i love good mysteries and i love johnny depp .
. .
so yes , i really dug this movie !
the hughes brothers are back with a vengeance , out to show the world that they are directors to be taken seriously , and this movie , my friends .
.
. is very serious !
in fact , it 's also very gruesome and bloody and morbid and creepy and black as hell .
it ai n't for the kids , i 'll tell you that much .
and if any of those recent hack directors of two - bit scream - esque slasher flicks want some advice on effective " kill scenes " , do not look any further , because each one committed to this film
is a cinematic stunner , especially when compared to their generic slice - and - dice contrivances .
in fact , most of this film 's structure is very creative , the actors , all solid , the atmosphere and " feel " of the picture , remarkably real
( got ta love those " unfortunates " ) , and the descent into darkness , well honed by the filmmakers .
you can almost taste the seediness off the screen and quickly come to appreciate the politics of the time .
but it 's also an impressive mystery film , based on the true - life tale of jack the ripper , a man whose identity was never discovered .
the theory in this film is based on the graphic novel " from hell " written by alan moore and presents a compelling story , which despite being a little oliver stone - ish , did manage to tie up all of its loose ends quite nicely , and present us with an entertaining bowl of mayhem , sexual depravity , drug usage , insanity , murders and love ?
yes , the brothers even managed to slip a little " love " story in here , and despite not truly being developed , i guess it could 've been much worse and taken up more time than was provided already .
that 's right
, there 's no real need to put any " romance " in a film about a mass murderer !
but that aside , you got ta give up the props to actor extraordinaire johnny depp , who once again possesses the strength in character and flawless acting abilities , to center this movie all the way through .
sure , he 's just playing a less goofier version of his ichabod crane character from sleepy hollow , but he does it so well and even added a michael caine accent to his mixed bag of tricks in this one .
i was also surprised at how little heather graham annoyed me in this film ( i was sure that her presence would ruin this movie , but she was fine ) and how little the dreams / fantasies of depp 's character had to do with the film 's development ( from what i had seen in the trailer , i thought the filmmakers were going to make this the crux of the story , but thankfully , it was n't ) .
on the downside , the film does n't really explain the whole freemasons cult organization real well and lacks character development .
but then again , a story about the most mysterious serial killer of all - time is probably not the ideal spot for character refinement .
i mean , the less i knew about each person , the more suspicious i became of each one 's motives , reasons , etc . . .
in fact , i was actually quite surprised by who was presented as the killer in the end , and that was in part , due to the distance to which i 'd been held from the film 's characters .
. .
or am i giving the filmmakers too much credit for something that might not have been their intention ?
perhaps .
overall , this is an extremely creepy production , with glorious cinematography
( reminiscent of coppola 's dracula and burton 's sleepy hollow ) , a grim score and solid acting .
but it 's not for everyone .
some may be utterly repulsed by the gory particulars of these tragic events , and even though the murders are n't shown as graphically as you might think , there 's enough here to send the squeamish right out the doors .
but i for one love movies that blend their eclectic visual style with an interesting mystery and palpable , gothic atmosphere , and this flick is just that and plenty more !
and god knows that i will certainly not be surrendering the burnt image of jack the ripper 's haunting cape silhouette and gleaming silver knife from my mind anytime soon . . .
brrrrr !
where 's joblo coming from ?
the crow ( 9/10 ) - dark city ( 9/10 ) - dracula ( 7/10 ) - jfk ( 9/10 ) - the nightmare before christmas ( 10/10 ) - the ninth gate ( 8/10 ) - the others ( 9/10 ) - quills ( 8/10 )
- shadow of the vampire ( 6/10 ) - sleepy hollow ( 8/10 )
Solution: P