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: film adaptation of hunter s .
thompson 's infamous semi - autobiographical hallucinogen - fueled book of the same title .
director terry gilliam of twelve monkeys ( 8/10 ) and brazil ( 7/10 ) fame , took over the helm of this project after fellow director alex cox ( sid and nancy ( 7 . 5/10 ) ) " apparently alienated everyone associated with the movie " , according to gilliam .
plot :
writer thompson ( depp ) heads down to las vegas with his attorney dr .
gonzo ( del toro ) to cover a motorcycle race .
during their trip , they systematically consume " two bags of grass , seventy - five pellets of mescaline , five sheets of high powered blotter acid , a salt shaker half - full of cocaine , a whole galaxy of multi - colored uppers , downers , screamers , laughers , a quart of tequila , a quart of rum , a case of beer , a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls .
the movie presents us with the results of that heavy drug use .
critique : i have given this movie two separate ratings because i believe that the enjoyment of this psychedelic picture is highly correlated with the amount of drugs or alcohol that would be floating around in the viewer 's own mind , whilst inhaling this cinematic vision of excess .
if you are prepared to get high or intoxicated before watching this film , i would say that this is one picture that you will thoroughly enjoy on a multitude of colorful levels .
if , on the other hand , you decide to stray from the addition of nefarious elements to your system , i could not imagine you truly appreciating much of this drug - induced picture 's entire ride ( 5 . 5/10 for all those sober dogs ) .
note : i have not read thompson 's book .
having said that , joblo did engage in an alcohol - based consumatory session before ( and during ) the viewing of this film , so his critique of the film should be appreciated on that level .
this movie relies heavily on style and peculiar humour , rather than substance or plot .
it moves admirably from one scene to the next , without much basis of their being , while presenting us with the two days in the life of writer hunter s .
thompson during which he seemed to consume more drugs and alcohol than anyone could ever imagine .
it was 1971 , and the times were apparently " a ' changing " in the states .
johnny depp chews into his role like an overgrown child sucking on a chocolate lollipop .
during the filming , depp apparently become fast friends with real - life writer thompson , and was known to wander off the set from time to time , for the sake of checking out the newest barmaid at the local watering hole .
i thought he did seem to exaggerate his walk a little bit too much , but then again , this movie is supposed to be a wild exaggeration of everything and anything , so who am i to talk .
the one thing that did blow my mind
was the actual physical transformation endured by actor benicio del toro for his role as dr .
gonzo .
i could n't believe that this fat , samoan lawyer , was the same guy who played the slick mumbling criminal in the usual suspects ( 7 . 5/10 ) .
word on the street is that gained over 40 pounds for this role , and i must say that his look was deliciously reprehensible .
plenty of cameos also pepper this kaleidoscopic moving picture in the form of ellen barkin , christina ricci , tobey maguire and cameron diaz , along with a bunch of others .
other than that , the soundtrack was expectedly eclectic , the style was not as wild as i thought it would be , and the ending was certainly not much of a barn - burner , but then again , who really noticed .
this movie is about visions of bats floating through your head , johnny depp looking goofy and being bald , and the cornucopia of drug - ravaged scenes filling your own intoxicated system with ideas of anarchy , rebellion and the lost american dream .
and for all those who plan on seeing this movie without the partnership of a mean drink or a mighty doobie , i suggest you move further down the aisle , buy yourself a ticket to godzilla ( 6/10 ) , and enjoy the visual fabrications manufactured for the unstimulated mind .
little known facts : depp and del toro snorted plenty of powdered milk instead of cocaine .
bill murray also portrayed a thompson - based character in the film where the buffalo roam .
johnny depp turned down roles in the three musketeers , speed ( 7 . 5/10 ) , and legends of the fall ( 7 . 5/10 ) , for smaller and quirkier roles in benny and joon ( 6 . 5/10 ) and what 's eating gilbert grape ?
( 7/10 ) .
in 1988 , depp told rolling stone magazine that he 'd tried every drug by the age of 14 .
johnny hung out with some of the members of oasis while filming the uncompleted divine rapture in ireland , and later played some slide guitar on the 1997 album , be here now .
johnny was born in kentucky , is a high - school dropout , has nicknamed himself " mr . stench " , has been engaged to four women until now ( including actress winona ryder , whose " winona forever " tattoo had to be altered to " wino forever " after their breakup ) , currently plays guitar in a band called " p " , and owns the viper room nightclub in l . a .
Solution:
P