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: i find most of television so intensely boring that i simply never turn on my set , unless i 'm watching a movie .
i do n't even have cable , so i went to radio shack to buy an antenna specifically for the purpose of watching " the x - files " every sunday night .
it 's the only show that 's worth an hour of my time each week ( though , since i do n't watch reruns , i 'm glad that i have six months of the year to avoid television altogether ) .
i am an avid fan of the show , and have been for about three years now .
and i love gillian anderson .
the x - files is the film that continues the story where the season finale left off .
the film is like a two - hour episode , except that there are a lot more special effects , the plot is thicker , and the resolution is more satisfying .
this is a terrific film , both for fans of the series and for those who have never seen it ( i imagine that viewers unfamiliar with the show will find the film to be solid and riveting entertainment ) .
i expected to like it more than any episode i 've seen , and my expectations were met .
actually , the film takes a few risks in its story and plot devices , but ,
thankfully , the makers managed to do it right .
when the finale ended , the fbi branch known as the x - files had been destroyed , and our heroes , mulder ( david duchovny ) and scully ( gillian anderson ) were left stripped of five years of hard work .
the film picks up soon after ; and mulder and scully have been reduced to field agents investigating a bomb threat in a federal building .
but wait , i 'm getting ahead of myself .
the film actually opens in the ice age , about 32 , 000 years prior , during which a couple of prehistoric guys get attacked by a vicious alien .
the alien 's blood infects them ( fans of the show will certainly remember the black cancer ) , and the story jumps into modern times , during which a young boy is also infected with the cancer .
it turns out that the bomb was planted to kill the boy , and mulder and scully uncover the cover - up despite the fact that scully has resigned from her position in the fbi .
soon , they find out that the whole thing has to do with aliens .
as i 've written before , it 's not easy to write plot summaries for films like this , because everything needs to be a surprise .
fans of the show will know what to expect , and i seriously doubt any of them being disappointed with the film .
director rob bowman has done a great job expanding the eerie feeling of the show to the big screen , making small adjustments and minor changes to utilize the possibilities that film allows over television .
there are some truly suspenseful and well - created scenes here ( late in the film , when they 're in the alien spacecraft , you 'll see one of the better action sequences in recent cinema ) .
the special effects are very good , and the production design by christopher nowak is fantastic .
what i find interesting is that the x - files is actually a great way for series neophytes to get into the story .
our heroes are given subtle introductions ( we 're not expected to know them on the outset ) , and the film explains enough of the story that prior knowledge of the series is n't required to understand the film .
there are , of course , little elements that the makers have included as payoff to the fans , but i 'll keep those as surprises .
it takes a lot of thought and understanding of the series to create a film using roots as complicated as the ones that the series provides , and then create a coherent film that anyone can understand clearly .
the series is strong for a lot of reasons .
it 's original ( though it has many ties to " the twilight zone " and owes some homage to hitchcock ) , and impressively eerie for a television show .
what really makes the series shine , however , are the actors .
duchovny has so much presence , and is just a fun guy to watch .
he has that confidence that will someday make him into a bankable leading man .
anderson is equally good , and paralyzingly beautiful ; she 's also a strong actress .
both performers have acted in little more than their series , however , though i think they 'll both get their chances to prove themselves very soon .
i enthusiastically recommend the x - files , both for fans and non - fans .
1998 is a summer filled with disappointing blockbusters , and
this film should satisfy where most of the others leave you completely dry .
it 's an intelligent film , and takes you places that you might not have been
( or , at least , might not have seen so many times that they feel familiar ) .
the x - files is impressive in concept , as well : fans of the series are likely to be highly critical , and to take the premise beyond the series is a risky move .
it 's nice to see a risk pay off for a change .
actually , it 's nice to see a risk at all .
Solution:
P