TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
PROBLEM: plot : a group of asbestos cleaners get a job removing the gunk from an old insane asylum .
as each day passes , the crew members begin to discover things about the place and themselves which set other things in motion .
saying anything else about the plot would be a crime .
have fun . . .
critique : " i feel like shooting myself in the head
" are the first words that came out of my mouth after seeing this movie , a good indication as to what kind of film to expect here .
this ai n't your average " happy go lucky " kind of picture .
this is a deliberately slow - paced mystery - horror film drenched in atmosphere , with a very creepy insane asylum ( in which most of the film takes place ) , very few clues up - front and lots to talk about afterwards .
will it bore some people to sleep ?
you bet it will !
is it made for the scream audiences of the day ?
absolutely not !
i guess you can describe this film as a horror movie for the " cerebral crowd " .
a film that patiently unwraps itself frame after frame , giving away very little with each step and each sound , unwinding itself until its final scenes offer up a world of revelations and plenty more to discuss later .
i 've always loved movies that have me talking about them afterwards like the shining and lost highway and this film fits right into that group .
in fact , i guess i can pussyfoot around the actual word all i want but the best way to describe this kind of movie is a " mindfuck " .
if you feel like watching a movie that moves very slowly , gives you a handful of characters with divergent backgrounds , tosses a few very ambiguous and supernatural cookies your way and is extremely disturbing once you put it all together , well ,
then this movie is definitely for you !
it 's the kind of film that you actually have to see twice to fully appreciate ( damn , i missed that whole " peanut butter " thing ! )
and one that will likely creep the shit out of you if watched alone in the dark .
" brrrrrrrrr .
.
.
now what was that sound in the basement ?
honey , can you go check ? " and one thing this film does n't have , unlike its hollywood - ian counterparts like the haunting , is special effects .
in fact , that 's one of the greater things about this movie : it feels real because it looks like it 's actually taped on video with very credible actors in very credible circumstances ( i did some research
and it was , in fact , shot on digital video .
. .
ah - ha ! ) .
another great thing about it is that it 's actually very gory and somewhat violent in theme , and yet we rarely see anything of the sort on the big screen ( it 's mostly implied , kids ! ) .
and as clich ?
d as it might be to say .
. .
it 's usually much scarier when stuff is left to our imagination or implied in movies as such .
other films that this one reminded me of include henry : portrait of a serial killer and the blair witch project , with that same real sense of dread , brooding and terror .
the film does however move awfully slow and if you really do n't get " into " it completely ( you really need to concentrate here ) , you will lose the motion of the story and the pent - up tension might be released .
but overall , this film is yet another great example of the horror genre making a very cool comeback this year with no tight tanktops in sight .
and with david caruso acting like the king hotshot like only he can , how can you go wrong ?
definitely not a film for everyone but
a must - see for anyone looking to throw themselves into the psyche of the disturbed ( count me in ! ) .
stanley kubrick would be proud !
oh yeah . . .
so where 's that gun again . . .
?
where 's joblo coming from ?
the blair witch project ( 4/10 ) - blair witch 2 ( 7/10 ) - the haunting ( 3/10 ) - the house on haunted hill ( 7/10 )
- lost highway ( 10/10 ) - the pledge ( 6/10 ) - the shining ( 9/10 ) - the sixth sense ( 8/10 ) - unbreakable ( 8/10 )

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: by phil curtolo mel gibson ( braveheart ) gave a gripping performance as the father of a young kidnapped boy in ron howard 's ransom .
gibson plays tom mullen , a wealthy business tycoon whose past actions are coming back to haunt him as a deranged psychopath , played by gary sinise ( forrest gump ) , and his band of low - life thugs kidnap his only son for $ 2 million .
tom and his wife , kate , played by rene russo ( tin cup ) were instructed not to inform the police , but they contacted the fbi .
minutes later , an elite team of agents led by delroy lindo ( broken arrow ) are in tom 's house and wiring every phone .
the plot sounds average , just like most other kidnap movies that you 've already seen , and it was nothing more than that .
that is until about half - way through the movie .
suddenly , tom goes to the fox 5 news room and makes a live broadcast saying , " this is your ransom .
but this is as close as you will ever get to it .
instead , i am offering this money as a reward on your head , dead or alive .
" at this point , the plot thickened , and the unusually slow start of the film turned into a suspense - filled action film with great stunts .
the last half of the film is very well done .
another thing that carries this film are the superb performances by gibson and sinise , as they collide in a game of wits over their cellular phones for most of the movie .
owen gleiberman of entertainment weekly commented on the subject : " it makes you wonder what kidnappers did before cell phones .
" before this movie , sinise played mostly " good guys , " first in of mice & men , then in forrest gump , and most recently , in apollo 13 . but he was surprisingly devilish and cold in his portrayal of a cop - gone - bad .
gibson , of course , was just being gibson , in an oscar - worthy performance .
although most of the scenes were quite predictable , ransom is a very entertaining and suspenseful film . ,

SOLUTION: P

PROBLEM: finding the courage to face life full - on is a difficult task .
summoning up the audacity to fall in love is a harder job .
if you 're a total jerk like melvin udall is , the odds are even more against you .
melvin ( jack nicholson ) is a successful romance author who is just the opposite of what you would expect someone in that profession to be .
a solitary man hidden away in his new york apartment with no human interaction and not even a hint of ever having been in a passionate relationship , he avoids the outside world as much as possible .
his obsessive - compulsive disorder rules his life as he uses several different bars of soap to wash his hands and refuses to step on a crack on the sidewalk .
( there 's a great scene when he has to cross a floor made of mosaic tiles -- _ very_small _ mosaic tiles . )
melvin has some great lines .
when his publisher 's receptionist asks him how he writes women so well in his books , he responds " i think of men and i take away reason and accountability .
" do n't get him wrong , he 's not merely a misogynist .
setting his sights higher than that , he 's also a homophobe , racist , anti - semite , xenophobe , animal - hater and intensely dislikes people who talk in metaphors .
when we first meet him , he 's busy dumping a neighbor 's dog down the garbage chute .
he 's an equal opportunity bigot .
he does venture outside his apartment every day to eat breakfast at a local cafe .
melvin is such a grouchy curmudgeon that waitress carol connelly ( helen hunt ) is the only one willing to wait on him .
and she 's none too happy about it .
when carol does n't show up for work , melvin 's routine is shot and he 's determined to do something about it .
tracking down her address , he shows up at her place begging her to come back to work so that he can eat breakfast .
the fact that she 's a poor single mother caring for a chronically ill son does n't appear to phase him , he wants his food .
much more upsetting is that his gay artist neighbor simon bishop ( greg kinnear ) is brutally attacked during a robbery .
this does n't upset melvin much ( " do n't worry , you 'll be back on your knees in no time " ) but when he is bullied into taking care of simon 's dog , his life is turned topsy - turvey .
melvin is sequestered because he 's afraid of what 's out there on the other side of his apartment door .
he has to make sure it 's ritualistically locked three times to keep the world on its proper side .
when he brings the dog home he reluctantly grows fond of it , talking to it and taking it everywhere
he goes .
this little crack in his emotional armor opens him up .
hiding behind his need for carol to return to work so she can serve him , he pays for a specialist to treat her son .
he even develops a friendship with simon .
all three people are heavily damaged .
melvin has retreated from life in his apartment .
carol has devoted herself to her son , convinced that she has to give up her life for him .
simon is estranged from his parents and his friends disappear when he is hospitalized and his money runs out .
a more unlikely trio to form relationships , you 'd rarely see .
and in the midst of it all , there are some wonderful moments .
melvin is hilarious in his grouchiness and touching as he attempts to be nice .
"
you make me want to be a better man , " he tells her .
one of the best aspects is that even as he opens up , he is still a curmudgeon .
carol
, afraid that his monetary contribution to the wellness of her son hides a hidden agenda rushes over to his apartment in the rain to explain in no uncertain terms that she will never sleep with him .
it only takes her a second to realize that she is delivering that statement while looking as if she just left a wet t - shirt contest .
there 's hardly anything left to say about jack nicholson .
i do n't remember ever seeing him in anything less than a stellar performance and his over - the - edge melvin is no disappointment .
nicholson may be the best actor working today .
hunt does a commendable job matching nicholson 's energy .
she is n't afraid to be seen as something less than a babe and her portrayal of exhausted run - down carol struggling with seemingly overwhelming obligations is top - notch .
their on - screen chemistry is a bit odd .
each does a wonderful job with the character , but together , there 's something a little off .
it 's a minor problem : they do work well together , but that missing element is what prevents this from being a four - star film .
director james
l
. brooks ( " terms of endearment " , " broadcast news " ) has a movie that is picking up awards by the bucketsful ( nominees for all the top golden globes , winners from the national board of review , inevitable oscars ) and has a winner on his hands .
"
as good as it gets " is n't exactly the quality that the title says , but it 's pretty darn close .
( michael redman has written this column for over 22 years and as soon as he finishes this one , he 's off to an annual 12 night celebration typically held in freezing weather during a snowstorm .
this year it 's in the sixties and raining .
that wacky el nino . )

SOLUTION:
P