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: is it just me , or have disney films gradually lost their appeal
?
i was almost stunned by the quality of " who framed roger rabbit ? " , a fun , unique look at a world where cartoons and people lived together .
"
the little mermaid " harkened back to , and perhaps surpassed , the classic disney animations from the first half of the century .
however , the endless stream of " the little mermaid " wanna - be 's is getting to me .
you know the spiel :
a lame plot recycled from some well - known story , colorful , almost psychedelic animation , the lead character who learns a valuable moral lesson , the comedic sidekick / sidekicks , the seemingly unattainable love interest , a few catchy songs , a few in - jokes for adults , and the occasional out of place warner - brothers - coyote - fall - off - the - cliff type joke .
it 's a formula , and like any formula , it gets tiresome .
that 's
why i 'm delighted to hear that disney recently picked up the international distribution rights to the works of ghibli , a japanese cartoon studio .
from what i 've seen of their movies ( " kiki 's delivery service " and the already english - dubbed and american- distributed " my neighbor totoro " ) , foreign audiences are in for a treat .
these movies , particularly " kiki 's delivery service , " are wonderfully original and entertaining .
" kiki 's delivery service
" starts with an unusual premise : kiki , upon hearing forecasts of clear skies , decides it is time for her to leave home .
this is unusual because kiki is n't a college student or a young adult making her start on the world , but a thirteen year old girl eager to begin her training as a witch .
her mother is also a witch , and as thirteen is the obligatory age for such training , her parents treat her leaving understandingly and put up only token resistance .
just the idea of a witch heroine may scare away some audiences , but no mention is made of the occult , and the subject is dealt with harmlessly throughout the movie : kiki 's mother acts as a village doctor , and kiki is able to do no more than fly on a broom .
kiki must choose a city to move to , and what she chooses is the co - star of the movie : a german seaport town , far removed from the country life she has been used to .
initially lost in the impersonal hugeness of her surrounding , she 's discouraged , and unable to support herself though her rudimentary skills as a witch .
on the verge of leaving for a new town , she uses her power of flight to deliver a pacifier to a baby who dropped it .
the favor eventually blossoms into her working as a courier , a one - persons delivery service .
this is where the movie becomes shockingly good .
kiki 's job is a catalyst for her realizing the beauty of the city and the world around her .
the townspeople she is put in contact possess an inner worth that does n't seem forced or artificial , but merely derived from looking at ordinary people in a different light .
they 're three- dimensional , impossible to quickly evaluate , possessing of faults , and understandably reserving in kindness towards a strange girl .
however , each one has something about them , some interest or trait , that makes them interesting and unique .
the personal beauty of the citizens is complimented by the beauty of the surroundings : the seaport town genuinely looks impressive , capturing the european charm of a medieval city adapted to the more modern needs of the 1950 's .
this beauty is beauty with depth ; for every detail left in , dozens are only hinted at .
i could probably go on all day , but i wo n't ; suffice it to say that many of these minor details could have been the highlight of the movie .
some of my favorites are kiki 's relationship with the baker 's husband : although he 's quiet , never shown speaking to kiki throughout the movie , and he initially scares her , his kindness wins her friendship .
in the garage of a deliveree 's house can be found a vintage model
t.
two old ladies have a relationship evolving from master - servant to friend - friend .
such details gives the impression that the beauty shown in the movie is only the tip of the iceberg .
added on top of this is a lesson on the importance of self - worth .
kiki initially seems to derive much of her self - worth from the beauty of her surroundings and the people around her , but an encounter with a rude girl crashes down her bewonderment , making her question the importance of such beauty .
this causes kiki to lose faith in herself .
however , kiki comes to realize not only the beauty of her surroundings , but the innate beauty inside her .
seeing kiki regain faith in herself is marvelous , and the principal device used to do it is so sublime that i do n't even want to hint at it .
the ending of the movie has a subtle charm combined with a sense of awe and , ironically , the most disney - esque moment i 've ever seen ; if you do n't hold your breath in wonder you might want to get medical attention .
the movie steers free of many of the disney conventions : there is no violence , however cartoonish , no song - and - dance number , and kiki 's pet cat jiji is more a friend than a comedic sidekick , although jiji is given many funny lines and scenes .
however , i would be surprised if disney does n't give jiji more jokes , or at least the voice of some comedian .
refreshingly enough , the moral lesson of the movie is not self - contradicted , a habit disney movies have gotten into .
" beauty and the beast " 's beautiful belle , for instance , learned that beauty was derived from a person 's inside , and was then rewarded by having the beast turn into a handsome prince in snazzy clothing .
kiki , on the other hand , learns to separate her wardrobe from her self - image , and nothing more is made of her early desires for better clothing than illustrating her increased maturity at the end of the film .
another difference with disney movies is in the style of animation for " kiki 's delivery service " : not as colorful and dynamic as disney animation can be , but with a greater attention to realism and detail , it fits the movie to a t.
this is particularly true with scenes of kiki 's flights .
the extreme realism of the birds in flight near kiki is magnificent to behold , and helps these scenes capture the wonder of flight better than any other film i 've ever seen .
i 'm not sure when or how this movie will be released in the united states .
disney tentatively plans a theater release of " monoko hime " shortly following the summer ' 97 japanese release , and should start releasing the other ghibli films after that .
i 'd guess that some will be released on video and some will be theatrically released in peak seasons with no competing disney release .
although the wait is unfortunate , it 's good to know that it 's being released at all , for
" kiki 's delivery service " is definitely a movie worthy of widespread promotion and release .
watch this movie .
along with " man bites dog , " and perhaps something by woody allen
, this is the best movie i 've ever seen .
A:
P