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: the only thing worse than watching a bad movie is realizing that the film had a lot of potential and could 've been effective .
such is the case with _ urban legend _ , the new horror film from first time director jamie blanks .
the idea behind the movie is that the mad slasher of the film muders people according to various urban legends .
examples include the killer in the backseat of the car and person getting calls from inside her house .
the killer wears one of those l .
l .
bean parkas with the hood drawn completely up
, so you ca n't see the face .
i guess halloween masks are out of style for psychos these days .
anyhow , the premise is certainly a nifty one and the opening scene is spooky and atmospheric .
it 's a very good setup that promises more chills to come .
unfortunately , the film never takes off from there .
the movie takes place on a peaceful new england college campus .
like most slasher flicks , this one also centers around a young female main character whose friends are slowly killed off by a knife wielding maniac ( or in this case an axe wielding maniac ) .
i 've always wondered why these killers do n't save themselves a lot of time and trouble and just go after the person they ultimately aim to kill .
after the fine first scene , the movie degenerates into a monotonous series of those annoying you - thought -
it - was - the - killer - but - was - just-
someone - else scares .
these are always accompanied by loud bursts of music .
i guess sudden , sharp music chords are what passes for terror these days .
the actual killer will attack at about every third music blast .
the slasher appears , attacks , the victim is eviscerated , and the tedious cycle appears anew .
false scares should always be used in moderation .
someone needs to tell director blanks that things like this just are n't as scary as they used to be .
this movie commits the biggest sin a horror film can commit -- it 's not frightening . remember the horror movie cliches that were so mercilessly mocked in _
scream _ and _ scream 2 _ ?
this movie still adheres to them .
tons of illogical moments about ; more than i really have the inclination to list .
and i do n't mean illogical in the summer popcorn movie sense .
that type of illogical can be fun .
this film insults your intelligence more times than i care to remember .
the last 20 minutes especially degenerates into such lunacy that you 'll be laughing more than you 'll be screaming .
actually , you wo n't be screaming at all .
at its best , the acting can barely be called " adequate " and the script could 've definitely used a rewrite or two .
the film still manages to have some strong points .
the killings are certainly inventive and plentiful enough to satistfy most gore fans .
there are some intentionally funny moments .
( these were exceeded by the unintentional ones . )
the film is well made from a technical standpoint .
besides the first part , there is also another good scene , a prolonged cat and mouse chase inside a radio station .
if there had only been more sequences like this , that relied on tautness and suspense rather than loud bursts of music , _ urban legend
_ might 've been worth your money .
Student:
N