Detailed Instructions: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
See one example below:
Problem: 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
Explanation: The phrases used in the review convey a negative sentiment (e.g. "presents it in a very bad package").

Problem: why do people hate the spice girls ? ?
what exactly have they done wrong , other than perhaps offend the fashion police ?
?
so what if they are not " great " singers --- they ai n't singing opera , folks , its pop music ! ?
who exactly is a " great " singer ? judging by that opening paragraph
it is obvious that i like the spice girls . ?
they do what they do -- sing some catchy tunes -- and
they do it pretty well . ?
they are able to carry that into their first film , " spice world " . ?
" spice world " certainly is n't a great filmgoing experience .
. .
what it is what the spice girls are all about : fun , songs , and a lot of " girl power !
" drawing from a number of different films ( like the beatles ' " hard day 's night " ) " spice world " chronicles the week heading up to the girls ' first concert at london 's albert hall .
?
they get to tool around london in a big ol' bus ( driven by meat loaf ! )
and generally have fun . ?
in order to through a semblence of plot into the film , there is an evil tabloid publisher played by barry humphries , better known to americans , for about 15 minutes , as dame edna ( remember her ? ) ?
he wants to sabotage the girls ' concert so he can sell papers .
of course , the point in a movie like " spice world " is n't plot . ?
the center of the film is the spice girls themselves : ginger ( the recently departed geri haliwell ) , posh ( victoria adams ) , sporty ( melanie chisolm ) , scary ( melanie brown ) , and baby ( emma bunton ) .
?
each one has their own personality and , perhaps the best part of the film , look like they are having some honest - to - goodness fun , something that ca n't be said for a lot of people in films today .
along for the ride are richard e . grant as their manager , clifford , and various other characters making quick cameo appearances ( including teriffic british actors like richard briers and stephen fry ) . ?
and , every once and a while , roger moore pops up as the chief to spout odd koans ( added bonus : he gets to , in the words of craig kilborn , dance , dance , dance . )
watching this film was fun , for the most part . ?
there are a few slow segments , but overly , director bob spiers keeps things moving at a quick pace , with plenty of hummable spice girls songs in the background . ?
his camerawork is fairly pedestrian , though the final concert number is done quite well with effective use of editing . ?
the look of the film promotes the high fun , with the design of the spicebus being quite original and eye - catching .
? add in wall - to - wall spice girls music and this film is lovable romp . ?
if you do n't like the spice girls , you wo n't change your mind with this film .
?
but , if you find them at least tolerable , get ready to sit back and chill because the spice girls are here to entertain you . . .
and do it quite well . ?
" spice world " ( 1998 ) . ?
directed by bob spiers . ?
written by kim fuller . ?
music by the spice girls .
?
with geri halliwell , victoria adams , melanie chisolm , melanie brown , emma bunton , richard e .
grant , claire rushbrook , roger moore . ?
distributed by columbia pictures .
?
running time : 92 minutes . ?
rated : pg . ? available on home video .
----
29 june 1998
Solution:
P