instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
since 1990 , the dramatic picture has undergone a certain change of style .
now , instead of emphasizing feel - good stories replete with characters of noble virtues , the screenplays and direction point toward human struggle and sorrow .
this realist tendancy can be inspiring at times , as 1993 's schindler 's list shows .
most of today 's mainstream drama , however , creates an overabundance of emoting that can turn off members of the audience .
that 's why pictures like october sky , which are a throwback to the good ol' dramas of yesteryear , are such a welcome relief in contemporary cinema .
the movie is based on the true story of homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) , a teenager in the 1950 's company town of coalwood , west virginia .
it 's a well - known fact that the only boys to make a name for themselves are the ones that get out of the town on football scholarships ; the rest grow up to work in the coal mine .
the mine , which is run by homer 's father ( chris cooper ) , is not the place for homer , however .
after watching the soviet satellite sputnik shoot across the october sky in 1957 , homer feels a connection with the outside world -- as he puts it , " anyone in the world could look up and see the same thing i did .
" drafting two of his best friends and the brainiac outcast , homer begins to construct rockets .
with the help of their history teacher , miss riley ( laura dern ) , and several mine workers , the four are soon bound for great things .
october sky is a skillfully crafted film , and most of that credit must go to director joe johnston .
johnston -- whose career in the film industry includes everything from directing well - known titles like jumanji and the rocketeer down to an uncredited role as a death star trooper in star wars -- certainly knows what he 's doing here .
he molds characters which are true to life and also fun to watch into a plot that is straightforward and robust
.
he does not push any barriers , but instead adopts a conservative style of filmmaking which enhances the film 's charm .
his finesse brings out elements which might otherwise be lost -- such as the relationships between homer and various mine workers , or the silent struggle between homer 's mother and father .
the cast is well chosen , although the true bright spots are the supporting roles
.
laura dern ( jurassic park ) lends a strong performance in the role of the history teacher , giving the boys the support and guidance they need .
her role is instantly likeable .
chris cooper ( the horse whisperer ) , as homer 's father , is less likeable -- even downright despicable at times -- but his turn here gives gravity to the movie .
he 's definitely a driving force in homer 's life , and his more humane moments give the piece a certain dynamic that is commendable .
the script is generally cheerful , projecting the boys ' endeavors in a lighthearted manner .
there are moments when it becomes predictable -- such as the train tracks scene -- and there are moments when it sacrifices orginality for the need to come up with an emotional plot twist .
it highlights the essence of youth , however , and for its exceptional job at this it can be forgiven other missteps .
october sky
should be a success with audiences .
although it does n't have the appeal of current teen flicks like varsity blues or she 's all that ,
it certainly holds an undeniable quality that older crowds will lean towards .
it 's a welcome change to the dramatic genre , and one that everyone should see .
answer:
P


question:
this is your definitive " hollywood " movie , extremely predictable , following the basic formula ( a horrible ending ) , overzealous writing ( meaning the writing was bad and seemed as if it were trying too hard to make it exciting , therefore making it look as if many things were merely tossed in there to fill space )
and if tommy lee jones and his lovable wise - ass character ( of which we 've seen before in the fugitive and quite frankly , was n't used enough here ) , i 'm afraid the film would have been completely unbearable .
in this film , ashley judd plays a women who is wrongfully convicted of killing her husband while out sailing for a weekend .
while in jail she finds out that her husband really is alive and that he framed the murder on her . over money ( how original ) .
while in jail she works out , exercises and basically does her best to get into near perfect condition .
now she has learned about a law titled " double jeopardy " stating that if she serves her full sentence and get out she could kill her husband and the law could not touch her ( although there has been talk that this is not the way the actual law works ) .
now her po ( parole officer ) , and a bunch of cops are chasing after her and are conflicted whether or not to believe her claims .
skipping over to the acting : the fact that judd is more of a looker than an actress ( no offense , she has been good [ simon birch ] and even very good to great [ kiss the girls ] at times , in the past
and i believe may have the potential to be better . . .
but she 's terribly unconvincing in this and her performance seems stale and unsatisfying )
does n't really add to the movie at all ; just takes away .
as i 'd said , jones was fine , although he did not have much to work with
.
he was much more of a supporting character .
which is fine , and he handled it well ; especially considering the material he had to work with .
i feel this film had alot going for it .
originality not being an issue .
the acting was the only thing ( as i said ) keeping it alive .
the plot seemed pretty intriguing and could have been as well if applied better .
the action scenes were well made ( however sometimes out of place ) .
i was just left unsatisfied in the long run .
so basically some of the action may have been exciting but genuinely over - thought , the plot has certainly been done before ( generally speaking ) , the movie moves way too fast for us to get involved in either the characters or the plot , and is basically a film that was almost saved by tommy lee jones , who if he had some more screentime , could perhaps have earned the film a higher rating ; in my book , anyway .
keep this in mind , if you 're in the mood for a good action film -- rent the fugitive .
d+
answer:
N


question:
one of the biggest cliches of any serial killer film is also one of the most believable .
you know , the one where the detective looks at a wall of pictures and other police information , and suddenly spots the clue which reveals who the killer is .
sure , it 's been used over and over , but for some reason , it is always fun to watch .
this cliche pretty much describes the level kiss the girls works on : overused , but always fun .
one of my personal rules about watching a film is not how original the film is , but how it goes around giving its story .
this rule applies highly to kiss the girls .
there is something psychologically stimulating in a well - crafted serial killer movie , and kiss the girls is certainly well made .
however , the whole film screams of unoriginality , and so it relies on the power of its actors and the technical detail to pull it through .
well , not only are the actors capable of pulling it through , but they add so much to the film that nearly every flaw is covered up .
unfortunately , one of the most revealing and rather insulting choices by the filmmakers ( one that seven , a film a lot like this one , knew not to make ) was to put the name of the killer in the opening credits .
that may give the actor credit for the role , but throughout the film , hidden in my mind , i was waiting for him to appear on screen , which spoiled the mystery .
however , credit must be given to the director for suspending this knowledge through most of the film .
plotwise , kiss the girls shows almost no originality .
we are introduced to detective alex cross ( morgan freeman ) , a forensic psychologist , and immediately we are given the cliched scene establishing him as the hero .
he gets a call about a woman who has shot her husband and is now threatening to kill herself .
obviously cross succeeds at getting the gun , but this scene is quickly forgotten during the next scene .
at his house , cross is told that his neice , naomi ( gina ravera ) , has been missing for four days .
this provides the motivation for cross to find the killer , but we are never given a chance to establish the relationship between the two , and as a result , we ca n't sympathize with detective cross .
however , what makes kiss the girls slightly original is the introduction of one of the abductees .
. .
before she is abducted .
dr .
kate mctiernan ( ashley judd , the actress of the judd family )
is a smart , athletic woman , and because of these traits , becomes a target for casanova -- what the serial killer likes to call himself .
because of these character - developing scenes , we care for mctiernan , making the abduction scene all that more suspenseful .
after being abducted , mctiernan wakes up and finds herself in a cell somewhere in the woods .
remembering that the killer gave her certain rules , she decides to break one of them by calling out .
when casanova comes to punish her , she breaks out and escapes by jumping over a waterfall .
after she is found , she begins to help cross find his neice .
from this moment on , kiss the girls takes on the form of every other serial killer film , as the two leads search for the rest of the victims held captive .
many people will compare this film to 1995 's seven , another killer film starring morgan freeman , but i presume that the similarities are intentional .
the screenplay , by david klass , is adapted from the novel written by james patterson , and yet i do n't quite see how this story could have worked in novel form .
what makes kiss the girls so good is the acting and the technical and visual impressiveness .
the cinematography , by aaron schneider , is reminiscient of seven , and sometimes i felt that many of the shots were trying too hard to impress us .
sometimes a simple shot is the best one . however , many of the shots are stunning , and unlike seven , most of them take place during the day , in sunlight .
the scene when ashley judd is running through the forest is extremely well done , in more than one way .
the camera work is terrific , but the editing makes this scene work so well .
the chaotic and mtv - type cutting gives the audience a sense of confusion and unawareness , exactly what judd 's character is experiencing .
however , the best aspect of kiss the girls is its actors .
morgan freeman is one of today 's most powerful and believable actors .
detective cross is a very good character for him , although it is just a similar one to the character in seven .
because of freeman 's powerful presence , he carries half the film by himself .
the other half is carried by ashley judd ,
one of today 's most promising dramatic actresses .
in fact , her performance is better than freeman 's , if that is even possible .
her character is more original than freeman 's , and she handles it wonderfully .
we finally have a female character in a movie like this who does more than just scream .
the supporting cast is highly underdeveloped , but the cast members do as much as they can with it .
cary elwes portrays a cop in north carolina , and unfortunately has scraps for a character .
tony goldwyn fairs slightly better , but
we do n't really get to know his character either .
gina ravera gives a good performance , but again she is n't in many of the scenes .
so as a result of all these small supporting parts , the weight of the film lies on the two leads , and they do a phenomenal job .
some of the best acting of this genre , and some of the best acting of the year .
two other essential aspects of the film are quite good .
director gary fleder does a good job of controlling his actors , but the second half of the film loses believability , especially during the revelation of the killer .
he also does n't handle the suspenseful scenes as a better director would have , losing a lot of tension during many scenes . however , to his credit , he does manage a terrific first half .
part of the blame falls on david klass .
i 'm sure the book developed many of the lesser characters more , but klass focuses on the two main parts .
while this may give the two leads more screentime , many of the small characters are one - dimensional , and the killer , when revealed , is extremely implausible .
thanks to the smart dialogue adapted from the novel , kiss the girls
always seems intelligent .
none of the conversations are laughable , and all move the plot forward without seeming forced .
one of the biggest problems i had with the movie was the motive of the killer .
i blame this mainly on the casting director , because the killer 's motive is because of rejection from women ( or so i assume from the opening monologue ) , but the killer himself is very attractive ( one of my friends is a , shall we say , big admirer of the killer ) .
kiss the girls is rated r for terror , violence , language , and suggested sex .
with all the implausibilities of this film , and with the mediocre second half , kiss the girls somehow manages to thoroughly entertain
.
in fact , i had the urge to see it again just for the performances .
the cinematography adds a lot of mood to the already creepy tone , and the script is usually smart .
this is clearly one of those movies which rely on the acting to pull it through .
morgan freeman is possibly today 's most convincing actor , and ashley judd adds another notch on her acting belt .
i must also say that i loved the ending .
the showdown between good and evil was quite tense , and the resolution of the scene makes almost anyone cheer .
perhaps it may not be possible , but most of the film is n't anyway .
answer:

P


